Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.78 and traded as high as $5.23. Ares Commercial Real Estate shares last traded at $5.2250, with a volume of 864,763 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ACRE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $4.75 to $5.50 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.33.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $287.53 million, a PE ratio of -34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.78.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $5.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.35 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 13.02% and a negative return on equity of 5.15%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is -400.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,606 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $37,497.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 92,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,277.22. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 21,761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $107,281.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 250,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,471.21. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,585 shares of company stock worth $175,434. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 41,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 94.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 456.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 83,886 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 5,107 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 5,192 shares during the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: ACRE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) primarily focused on commercial real estate debt investments. Externally managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation, ACRE seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through its diversified portfolio of CRE financing strategies. The company specializes in originating, acquiring, financing and managing first mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and other structured finance products.

Since its inception, Ares Commercial Real Estate has targeted a broad range of property types, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets.