Arbor Realty Trust Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ABR)

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 30,722 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 152% compared to the average volume of 12,200 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Arbor Realty Trust from $13.50 to $12.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James downgraded Arbor Realty Trust from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Arbor Realty Trust from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.75.

Arbor Realty Trust Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of ABR stock opened at $12.10 on Friday. Arbor Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $11.43 and a fifty-two week high of $15.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 35.68 and a current ratio of 37.49. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.16.

Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.02). Arbor Realty Trust had a return on equity of 14.75% and a net margin of 22.66%. The business had revenue of $262.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.92 million. Equities analysts expect that Arbor Realty Trust will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Arbor Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.22%. Arbor Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 144.54%.

Insider Transactions at Arbor Realty Trust

In other news, Director William C. Green bought 5,269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.17 per share, for a total transaction of $74,661.73. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 178,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,533,553.49. The trade was a 3.04 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arbor Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Arbor Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,144,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arbor Realty Trust by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 105,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 23,987 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arbor Realty Trust by 52.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 291,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,535,000 after purchasing an additional 100,055 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Arbor Realty Trust by 42.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 132,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,057,000 after buying an additional 39,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its position in Arbor Realty Trust by 23,453.8% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 18,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 18,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.25% of the company’s stock.

About Arbor Realty Trust

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc invests in a diversified portfolio of structured finance assets in the multifamily, single-family rental, and commercial real estate markets in the United States. The company operates through Structured Business and Agency Business segments. It primarily invests in bridge and mezzanine loans, including junior participating interests in first mortgages, and preferred and direct equity, as well as real estate-related joint ventures, real estate-related notes, and various mortgage-related securities.