Alpine Global Management LLC Takes $2.68 Million Position in Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation $ACRE

Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 593,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,679,000. Alpine Global Management LLC owned approximately 1.08% of Ares Commercial Real Estate as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 163.4% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 44,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 27,665 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the third quarter valued at $54,000. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 51,801 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 19,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 221,131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 22,197 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of ACRE opened at $4.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.93. The stock has a market cap of $270.26 million, a P/E ratio of -244.05 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation has a one year low of $3.35 and a one year high of $5.89.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is -3,000.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ACRE. 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $5.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Commercial Real Estate

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 of the company’s stock, valued at $436,467.69. The trade was a 6.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,606 shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $37,497.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 92,754 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 35,585 shares of company stock valued at $175,434. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.