Stuart Rothstein Sells 52,074 Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Stock

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $520,219.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ARI traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $9.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,240,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 996,498. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.44 and a 1-year high of $11.64. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.29. The company has a quick ratio of 51.19, a current ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a positive return on equity of 9.37% and a negative net margin of 39.40%. Research analysts forecast that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -105.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARI has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $8.75 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at about $422,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 960.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 101,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 92,060 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the third quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 72.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,304,000 after buying an additional 196,122 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.