Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $4.90 and traded as high as $5.32. Ares Commercial Real Estate shares last traded at $5.23, with a volume of 346,853 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.33.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a market cap of $289.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -261.50 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.90.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is currently -3,000.00%.

Insider Activity at Ares Commercial Real Estate

In other Ares Commercial Real Estate news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 21,761 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Michael Gonzales sold 6,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $30,654.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,467.69. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,585 shares of company stock worth $175,434. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter valued at about $129,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 1st quarter worth approximately $166,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 94.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69,881 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.