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

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) have received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.20.

Several equities analysts have commented on ACRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of 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 lifted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 4.0% during the first 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 7.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 2,769 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 53,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 4,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. now owns 93,962 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 9,464 shares during the period. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

NYSE:ACRE opened at $6.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $370.65 million, a P/E ratio of -8.19 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $6.36 and a 52 week high of $11.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.08.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.71%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is currently -120.48%.

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.