Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday . 2,798,323 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 2,080,314 shares.The stock last traded at $6.8950 and had previously closed at $7.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ARI. Wall Street Zen lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. BTIG Research lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 0.6%

The firm has a market cap of $912.05 million, a P/E ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $10.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.58. The company has a current ratio of 81.81, a quick ratio of 81.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $58.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.85 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 48.01%. As a group, analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $3.75 per share. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 215.1%. This is a positive change from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is currently 123.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total value of $49,993.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $271,053.07. This trade represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARI. Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 1st quarter worth about $9,332,000. No Street GP LP raised its stake 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 valued at $30,390,000 after acquiring an additional 750,000 shares in the last quarter. Waterfall Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter worth $5,557,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake 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 valued at $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 557,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2,573.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 485,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

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.