Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.19.

ACRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.25 to $3.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 132.6% during the 1st quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 135,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 77,026 shares during the period. North Ground Capital bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 1st quarter valued at about $433,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,094,490 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,067,000 after purchasing an additional 62,900 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 15.3% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 419,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,944,000 after buying an additional 55,667 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE ACRE opened at $4.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The company has a market cap of $264.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.38 and a beta of 1.27. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a twelve month low of $3.35 and a twelve month high of $7.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4.29 and its 200 day moving average is $5.49.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is -240.00%.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, a specialty finance company, originates and invests in commercial real estate (CRE) loans and related investments in the United States. It provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. The company originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt and preferred equity products, mezzanine loans, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities.