Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ACRE. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $4.75 to $5.50 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Commercial Real Estate currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.33.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $5.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $282.03 million, a PE ratio of -34.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.26. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a fifty-two week low of $3.35 and a fifty-two week high of $6.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.80.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.17. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative return on equity of 5.15% and a negative net margin of 13.02%.The business had revenue of $5.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.35 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 21,761 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $107,281.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 250,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,471.21. This trade represents a 8.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Michael Gonzales sold 6,218 shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $30,654.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $436,467.69. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,585 shares of company stock worth $175,434. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 4th quarter valued at about $425,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 4.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 376,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 14,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: ACRE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) primarily focused on commercial real estate debt investments. Externally managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation, ACRE seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through its diversified portfolio of CRE financing strategies. The company specializes in originating, acquiring, financing and managing first mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and other structured finance products.

Since its inception, Ares Commercial Real Estate has targeted a broad range of property types, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets.