Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

ARI has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $8.75 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.31.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Shares of ARI opened at $8.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.00 and a 200-day moving average of $9.46. The company has a quick ratio of 46.13, a current ratio of 46.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.57 and a beta of 1.74. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a twelve month low of $8.44 and a twelve month high of $11.87.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is presently -108.69%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARI. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 139.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 302,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,779,000 after buying an additional 176,101 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 329,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,028,000 after acquiring an additional 130,892 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 72.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,304,000 after acquiring an additional 196,122 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 8.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 281,902 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 20,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 960.9% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 101,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 92,060 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.