Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.88.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

ARI stock opened at $10.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.27, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a one year low of $7.70 and a one year high of $11.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 90.32 and a current ratio of 90.32.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.02. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 51.40% and a return on equity of 8.34%. The firm had revenue of $63.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.15 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,072 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.16, for a total transaction of $529,051.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 229,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,333,843.44. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARI. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,813,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 26.3% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,840 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 89,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $856,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 94.1% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,864 shares during the period. Finally, Samalin Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 27.3% in the 1st quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 76,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 16,394 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI’s investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.