Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Stock Rated “Reduce” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ACRE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $4.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of ACRE stock opened at $3.42 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $4.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.68. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12 month low of $3.16 and a 12 month high of $5.89. The company has a market capitalization of $189.47 million, a P/E ratio of -42.69 and a beta of 1.19.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $14.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.96 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a positive return on equity of 4.08% and a negative net margin of 8.04%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is -750.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Highland Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 603.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Attessa Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter worth about $76,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation is a specialty finance company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company originates and invests in commercial real estate loans, with a primary focus on senior mortgage loans secured by properties in the United States.

Its investment portfolio may include loans backed by multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hotel and other commercial properties. Ares Commercial Real Estate generally targets transitional and other commercial real estate assets that require financing for acquisition, redevelopment, renovation or repositioning.