Marshall Wace LLP Makes New $123,000 Investment in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 20,924 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $123,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ACRE. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 139.7% in the 4th quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 6,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 160.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 11,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 472.0% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 14,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 11,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ACRE shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.25 to $3.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.19.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $4.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $226.29 million, a PE ratio of -6.35 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.56. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $3.35 and a fifty-two week high of $7.99.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is -92.31%.

Ares Commercial Real Estate 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.