Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,210,747 shares, a growth of 39.1% from the February 26th total of 1,589,689 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 446,658 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days. Approximately 4.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

ACRE stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $4.87. The company had a trading volume of 749,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,627. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1-year low of $3.35 and a 1-year high of $5.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.93. The company has a market capitalization of $269.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -243.25 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.3%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is presently -3,000.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Michael Gonzales sold 6,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $30,654.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,533 shares in the company, valued at $436,467.69. The trade was a 6.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 21,761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $107,281.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 250,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,233,471.21. This represents a 8.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,585 shares of company stock valued at $175,434. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACRE. North Ground Capital acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,222,000. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 3rd quarter worth $2,679,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 947.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 647,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after buying an additional 585,711 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter valued at about $2,685,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,441,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

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.