Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Downgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on ACRE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Bank of America reissued an underperform rating and set a $7.00 price target (down from $11.00) on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $10.50 to $8.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TheStreet lowered Ares Commercial Real Estate from a c- rating to a d+ rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $8.42.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 4.9 %

NYSE ACRE opened at $6.79 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $370.12 million, a PE ratio of -8.18 and a beta of 1.42. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a fifty-two week low of $6.36 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $18.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.77 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a positive return on equity of 0.84% and a negative net margin of 54.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post -0.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 16th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.73%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is currently -120.48%.

Insider Activity at Ares Commercial Real Estate

In other news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe bought 3,509 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.32 per share, with a total value of $50,248.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $590,828.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,783,379 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $20,736,000 after purchasing an additional 34,611 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 790,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,889,000 after acquiring an additional 81,534 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2,609.3% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 570,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,909,000 after acquiring an additional 549,280 shares in the last quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC now owns 416,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,312,000 after acquiring an additional 6,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 413,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,081,000 after acquiring an additional 27,321 shares in 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, a specialty finance company, originates and invests in commercial real estate (CRE) loans and related investments in the United States. It provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. The company originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt and preferred equity products, mezzanine loans, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities.