Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ACRE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.10.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

ACRE opened at $6.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.02. The company has a market capitalization of $358.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.56 and a beta of 1.48. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12-month low of $6.25 and a 12-month high of $11.24.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is presently -84.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 211.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter valued at $68,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1,329,500.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 13,295 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.34% 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.