Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) have been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.3750.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ACRE shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $4.42 on Friday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52-week low of $4.05 and a 52-week high of $5.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.00. The firm has a market cap of $245.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.27 and a beta of 1.14.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.02). Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative return on equity of 2.80% and a negative net margin of 37.21%.The firm had revenue of $13.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.64 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is presently -166.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 27,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,284 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 41,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 3,371 shares during the last quarter. HRT Financial LP raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 36.0% in the 4th quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 16,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 4,445 shares during the last quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 232,262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 4,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 456.0% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

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.