Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $9.09, but opened at $9.46. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares last traded at $9.82, with a volume of 454,006 shares changing hands.

The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a negative net margin of 35.84% and a positive return on equity of 9.11%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.07%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is -108.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ARI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $8.75 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.31.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 139.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 302,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,779,000 after acquiring an additional 176,101 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 329,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,028,000 after acquiring an additional 130,892 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,304,000 after purchasing an additional 196,122 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 960.9% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 101,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 92,060 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 9.0% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 28,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 2,382 shares during the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 46.13 and a quick ratio of 46.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.35. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.79 and a beta of 1.74.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

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.