Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Short Interest Up 31.3% in July

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,610,000 shares, anincreaseof31.3% from the July 15th total of 2,750,000 shares. Currently,2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently,2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.83, for a total value of $511,887.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 333,854 shares in the company, valued at $3,281,784.82. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $271,921,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the fourth quarter worth $31,684,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,326,569 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,265,000 after purchasing an additional 63,191 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.2% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,951,609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,892,000 after purchasing an additional 96,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,745,469 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,116,000 after purchasing an additional 226,399 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $10.75 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.31.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of ARI opened at $10.2650 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 98.25, a quick ratio of 98.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -73.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.50. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $7.70 and a 12 month high of $10.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.64.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -714.29%.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.