MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,644 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,525 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate were worth $173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ACRE. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 17.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 86,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 20,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 2,769 shares during the period. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ACRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.10.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACRE opened at $7.11 on Tuesday. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a 12 month low of $6.25 and a 12 month high of $11.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.51 million, a P/E ratio of -6.02 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.01.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is currently -84.75%.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Profile

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, a specialty finance company, originates and invests in commercial real estate (CRE) loans and related investments in the United States. It provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. The company originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt and preferred equity products, mezzanine loans, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities.