Ares Commercial Real Estate’s (ACRE) “Market Perform” Rating Reaffirmed at Citizens Jmp

Citizens Jmp restated their market perform rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on ACRE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.38.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Up 1.0%

ACRE stock opened at $4.41 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $244.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.24 and a beta of 1.15. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12 month low of $4.05 and a 12 month high of $5.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.95.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $13.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.63 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, equities analysts forecast that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.6%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is presently -166.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,679,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 947.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 647,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after purchasing an additional 585,711 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,685,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the fourth quarter worth $2,441,000. Finally, North Ground Capital lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 1,551,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,418,000 after purchasing an additional 393,943 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

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.