Raymond James & Associates Reduces Holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

Raymond James & Associates cut its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,881 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,286 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 14.4% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 51,638 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 6,519 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 12.6% during the third quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 25,519 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 2,859 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the third quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Finally, Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 15.4% during the third quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 16,903 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACRE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $10.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $7.00 target price (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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, April 10th. TheStreet lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 18,868 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.32, for a total value of $194,717.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 197,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,037,312.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACRE opened at $6.85 on Monday. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a twelve month low of $6.36 and a twelve month high of $11.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42. The company has a market capitalization of $372.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.51 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.97.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.60%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is -138.89%.

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.