Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Stake Lowered by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,631,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 115,652 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate were worth $25,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,702,853 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,734,000 after acquiring an additional 251,277 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,285,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,884,000 after acquiring an additional 118,414 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 62.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,145,612 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,414,000 after purchasing an additional 439,585 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,088,317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,046,000 after purchasing an additional 30,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,022,000. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Down 0.8 %

Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $7.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $381.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.74 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $6.81 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $7.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.15.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is -138.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $10.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe bought 3,509 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $14.32 per share, with a total value of $50,248.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,259 shares in the company, valued at $590,828.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe acquired 3,509 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.32 per share, with a total value of $50,248.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $590,828.88. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Anton Feingold sold 5,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.37, for a total transaction of $61,079.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,270.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.95% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

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.