Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.00.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. No Street GP LP grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,390,000 after acquiring an additional 750,000 shares during the last quarter. Waterfall Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter worth $5,557,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 710.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 636,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 557,850 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the second quarter worth $5,323,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2,573.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 504,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,879,000 after buying an additional 485,203 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ARI stock opened at $10.49 on Friday. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a fifty-two week low of $7.70 and a fifty-two week high of $11.20. The company has a quick ratio of 96.78, a current ratio of 96.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.52.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The business had revenue of $73.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.97 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 46.66%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI’s investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.