Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.78 and traded as high as $5.23. Ares Commercial Real Estate shares last traded at $5.2250, with a volume of 864,763 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on ACRE shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. UBS Group increased 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 research report on Friday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $4.75 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $287.53 million, a P/E ratio of -34.83, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.07 and a 200-day moving average of $4.78.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $5.63 million during 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%. Research analysts predict that Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation will post -0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is -400.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,606 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 transaction of $37,497.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 92,754 shares in the company, valued at $457,277.22. The trade was a 7.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Michael Gonzales sold 6,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $30,654.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $436,467.69. The trade was a 6.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,585 shares of company stock valued at $175,434. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 4,948 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 94.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 3,396 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 100.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 5,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. 41.34% of the stock is 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.