Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.1250.

Several analysts have commented on ARI shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $49,993.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,053.07. This trade represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 18.6% during the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 8.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 83,682 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of ARI opened at $10.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 81.81 and a quick ratio of 81.80. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a one year low of $9.49 and a one year high of $11.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.07). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 48.01%.The company had revenue of $58.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.85 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $3.75 per share. This represents a $15.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 139.1%. This is a positive change from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 123.46%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI’s investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.