Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $4.88 and traded as high as $5.03. Ares Commercial Real Estate shares last traded at $5.0150, with a volume of 443,669 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACRE shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.33.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 1.1%

The firm has a market cap of $277.68 million, a P/E ratio of -250.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.88.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -3,000.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Michael Gonzales sold 6,218 shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $30,654.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,467.69. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,606 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $37,497.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 92,754 shares in the company, valued at $457,277.22. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 35,585 shares of company stock valued at $175,434 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 456.0% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 94.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

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.