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

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.50.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ACRE shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $3.75 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

NYSE:ACRE opened at $4.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.75 million, a P/E ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $4.25 and a 200-day moving average of $5.22. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1 year low of $3.35 and a 1 year high of $7.99.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -240.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 50,424 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 16,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 2,943 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 73,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 2,982 shares during the period. CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 17,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 27,859 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.