Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Stock

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $5.50 to $6.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target suggests a potential upside of 5.26% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on ACRE. Zacks Research cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.50.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 11.5%

Shares of ACRE stock opened at $5.70 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.08 and its 200 day moving average is $4.82. The firm has a market cap of $313.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.00, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.26. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52-week low of $3.35 and a 52-week high of $6.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,606 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $37,497.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 92,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,277.22. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Michael Gonzales sold 6,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $30,654.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,467.69. This represents a 6.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 35,585 shares of company stock worth $175,434 over the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter valued at about $129,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 94.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter worth approximately $409,000. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Commercial Real Estate this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share (ex-dividend March 31; pay April 15), implying a roughly 10.5% yield — a clear cash-return signal that can support the share price.
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell meaningfully in January (down ~14.2% to ~1.68M shares; ~3.1% of float; short-interest ratio ~3.3 days), which reduces one source of selling pressure and may amplify upside on positive news.
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat estimates: reported revenue of $13.22M vs. consensus ~$11.38M, and management emphasized active portfolio reshaping with targeted resolutions of risk-rated loans in 2026 — actions that could improve future cash flow if executions go as planned. Portfolio Reshaping Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s Q4 earnings call balanced acknowledgement of risks with plans to address problem loans — helpful for transparency but leaves outcomes dependent on execution and market conditions. Earnings Call Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: EPS reporting confusion and an apparent miss: several outlets and filings show ACRE reported ($0.07) EPS, missing the consensus ~$0.01 estimate, which stresses profitability and capital-market perceptions; note some outlets reported a different EPS figure, creating short-term uncertainty. Earnings Miss Article
• Negative Sentiment: New risk disclosure: TipRanks flagged that ACRE’s fee-driven loan-sales model faces heightened market and liquidity risks — this increases vulnerability to adverse market conditions and could pressure future earnings or capital actions if liquidity tightens. Risk Disclosure

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: ACRE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) primarily focused on commercial real estate debt investments. Externally managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation, ACRE seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through its diversified portfolio of CRE financing strategies. The company specializes in originating, acquiring, financing and managing first mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and other structured finance products.

Since its inception, Ares Commercial Real Estate has targeted a broad range of property types, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets.