Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Receives $5.25 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.25.

A number of analysts have commented on ACRE shares. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research raised Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings raised Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACRE opened at $4.72 on Friday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a one year low of $4.14 and a one year high of $5.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.60 and a 200-day moving average of $4.88. The stock has a market cap of $262.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.06 and a beta of 1.15.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.08. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 8.04% and a positive return on equity of 4.08%. The business had revenue of $14.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.7%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -750.00%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 456.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 603.3% during the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 6,513 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,587 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 100.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 5,192 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.