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 recommendation of “Reduce” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.3750.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 456.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 603.3% during the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 6,513 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 5,587 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in 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 worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 5,192 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:ACRE opened at $4.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.03. The company has a market capitalization of $255.98 million, a PE ratio of -12.82 and a beta of 1.14. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52-week low of $4.05 and a 52-week high of $5.89.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $13.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.64 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative return on equity of 2.80% and a negative net margin of 37.21%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -166.67%.

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.