Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.3333.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ACRE. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 0.1%

ACRE opened at $4.77 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.04 and a 200 day moving average of $4.93. The stock has a market cap of $263.84 million, a P/E ratio of -238.25 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52-week low of $3.35 and a 52-week high of $5.89.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.6%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is presently -3,000.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Commercial Real Estate news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 21,761 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $107,281.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 250,197 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,471.21. This trade represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Michael Gonzales sold 6,218 shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $30,654.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,467.69. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 35,585 shares of company stock valued at $175,434 over the last quarter. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter worth about $129,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 1st quarter valued at about $166,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position 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, Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter valued at approximately $187,000. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by 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.