Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.81.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.68, for a total transaction of $43,253.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 78,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,084.80. This represents a 8.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 139.7% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 6,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 211.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 5,252 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 4th quarter worth $69,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 160.9% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 11,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

NYSE:ACRE opened at $4.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a fifty-two week low of $4.61 and a fifty-two week high of $7.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.22. The stock has a market cap of $261.67 million, a PE ratio of -7.34 and a beta of 1.57.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.58%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -92.31%.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company 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.