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

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.3750.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ACRE shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 603.3% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 6,513 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,587 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $4.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $241.06 million, a P/E ratio of -12.07 and a beta of 1.15. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a one year low of $4.05 and a one year high of $5.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.94.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $13.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.63 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 37.21% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.8%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -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.