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

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.10.

Several brokerages have issued reports on ACRE. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

ACRE stock opened at $7.29 on Thursday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a one year low of $6.25 and a one year high of $11.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.99. The stock has a market cap of $397.61 million, a PE ratio of -6.18 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -84.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,783,379 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,736,000 after acquiring an additional 34,611 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,272,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,907,000 after purchasing an additional 16,309 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,052,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,627,000 after acquiring an additional 23,845 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.0% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 861,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,030,000 after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 524,694 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,489,000 after buying an additional 111,194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

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.