Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $8.18 and last traded at $8.34, with a volume of 310417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ARI shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.50.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Down 3.7 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.39 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 51.19 and a quick ratio of 51.19.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative net margin of 39.40% and a positive return on equity of 9.37%. On average, research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.54%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -105.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total transaction of $109,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,855.04. This trade represents a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $520,219.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at $3,855,420.72. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 41,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 46,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 44,663 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 278,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

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.