Wall Street Zen Downgrades Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) to Sell

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on ARI. BTIG Research cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock opened at $6.84 on Friday. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 1 year low of $6.43 and a 1 year high of $11.24. The company has a market capitalization of $879.21 million, a P/E ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.84.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The real estate investment trust reported ($2.62) EPS for the quarter. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 55.49% and a return on equity of 7.39%. The company had revenue of $44.38 million for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARI. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 61.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 18,532 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 1,824 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI’s investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.