Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.00.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.16, for a total value of $529,051.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,333,843.44. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARI. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,298,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,588,000 after purchasing an additional 56,377 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,662,000 after buying an additional 9,273 shares during the last quarter. No Street GP LP raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 33.3% in the third quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,390,000 after buying an additional 750,000 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,085,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,130,000 after buying an additional 134,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 50.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,498,000 after acquiring an additional 432,377 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock opened at $10.65 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 96.78, a current ratio of 96.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $10.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.21. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52 week low of $7.70 and a 52 week high of $11.20. 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 (NYSE:ARI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 46.66%.The business had revenue of $73.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.97 million. As a group, analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

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.