Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.1250.

ARI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total value of $49,993.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $271,053.07. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARI. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the first quarter valued at approximately $9,332,000. No Street GP LP increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 33.3% during the third quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,390,000 after purchasing an additional 750,000 shares in the last quarter. Waterfall Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,557,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 710.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 636,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 557,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2,573.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 504,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,879,000 after purchasing an additional 485,203 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARI opened at $11.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.46. The company has a current ratio of 81.81, a quick ratio of 81.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $9.49 and a 12 month high of $11.24.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.07). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 48.01% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $58.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.85 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 123.46%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

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.