Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Price Target to $6.00

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $5.50 to $6.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 13.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Commercial Real Estate has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

ACRE opened at $5.28 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.83. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1 year low of $3.35 and a 1 year high of $5.89. The company has a market capitalization of $292.08 million, a PE ratio of -263.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.26.

Insider Transactions at Ares Commercial Real Estate

In related news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 21,761 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $107,281.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 250,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,233,471.21. This represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,606 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $37,497.58. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 92,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,277.22. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,585 shares of company stock valued at $175,434. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. North Ground Capital bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,222,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 44.5% in the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 226,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 69,881 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter valued at $409,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 564,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,545,000 after acquiring an additional 110,505 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 4.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 376,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 14,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: ACRE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) primarily focused on commercial real estate debt investments. Externally managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation, ACRE seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through its diversified portfolio of CRE financing strategies. The company specializes in originating, acquiring, financing and managing first mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and other structured finance products.

Since its inception, Ares Commercial Real Estate has targeted a broad range of property types, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets.