Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Lowered to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

ACRE has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Commercial Real Estate has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

NYSE:ACRE opened at $4.93 on Tuesday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $4.05 and a 52 week high of $5.89. The firm has a market cap of $273.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.68 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.04.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is presently -166.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACRE. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,679,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 947.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 647,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after purchasing an additional 585,711 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,685,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,441,000. Finally, North Ground Capital boosted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 1,551,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,418,000 after purchasing an additional 393,943 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.