Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) was upgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $5.50 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.90% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.38.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of ACRE opened at $4.92 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.04. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12 month low of $4.05 and a 12 month high of $5.89. The company has a market capitalization of $272.68 million, a PE ratio of -13.65 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the third quarter valued at about $2,679,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 24.4% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 564,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,545,000 after purchasing an additional 110,505 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 31.5% during the first quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 112,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 1st quarter valued at $199,000. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter worth $119,000. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.