Brokerages Set Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) PT at $7.10

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.10.

ACRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com raised Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 211.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 5,252 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter valued at approximately $82,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 17.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1,329,500.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 13,295 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ACRE opened at $6.39 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.01. The stock has a market cap of $348.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.42 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12 month low of $6.02 and a 12 month high of $11.24.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is presently -84.75%.

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.