Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) have been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.3333.

ACRE has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Zacks Research lowered Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Transactions at Ares Commercial Real Estate

In related news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 21,761 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 250,197 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,471.21. This trade represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Michael Gonzales sold 6,218 shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $30,654.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,467.69. This trade represents a 6.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Alpine Global Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 759,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 165,193 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 159,968 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 31,996 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACRE opened at $5.06 on Wednesday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1 year low of $3.35 and a 1 year high of $5.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.06 and its 200 day moving average is $4.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.89 million, a P/E ratio of -252.75 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is -3,000.00%.

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.