Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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, Wall Street Zen downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.00.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Up 1.0%

ARI stock opened at $10.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 1.54. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $7.70 and a 12 month high of $11.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.24 and its 200 day moving average is $10.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 96.78 and a quick ratio of 96.78.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. The company had revenue of $73.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.97 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 46.66% and a return on equity of 7.94%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.4%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 125.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,072 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 229,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,333,843.44. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 43.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 6,358 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 66.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,419 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,561 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the second quarter worth $1,358,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 124.8% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 25,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 14,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.