Brokerages Set Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Target Price at $8.42

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.42.

Several brokerages have issued reports on ACRE. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 27th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE ACRE opened at $7.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $413.19 million, a PE ratio of -9.13 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12 month low of $6.36 and a 12 month high of $11.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.04 and a 200-day moving average of $7.66.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.34). Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 54.60% and a positive return on equity of 0.84%. The business had revenue of $18.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.77 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 16th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -120.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACRE. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 5,286 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 136,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 34,491 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the fourth quarter valued at about $210,000. Significant Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the fourth quarter valued at about $439,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 19,161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 2,933 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, a specialty finance company, originates and invests in commercial real estate (CRE) loans and related investments in the United States. It provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. The company originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt and preferred equity products, mezzanine loans, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities.