Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.3333.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $4.75 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACRE opened at $4.79 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.57 million, a P/E ratio of -31.93 and a beta of 1.27. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1 year low of $3.35 and a 1 year high of $6.20.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $5.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.35 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 13.02% and a negative return on equity of 5.15%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.5%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -400.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 456.0% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 94.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 5,192 shares during the period. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.