Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Boosts Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Price Target to $6.00

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) had its price objective hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $5.50 to $6.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 5.26% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Zacks Research downgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Commercial Real Estate presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.50.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 11.5%

Shares of ACRE opened at $5.70 on Wednesday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12 month low of $3.35 and a 12 month high of $6.09. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.08 and its 200-day moving average is $4.82. The firm has a market cap of $313.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.26.

Insider Transactions at Ares Commercial Real Estate

In other Ares Commercial Real Estate news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 21,761 shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 250,197 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,471.21. The trade was a 8.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,606 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total value of $37,497.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 92,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $457,277.22. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 35,585 shares of company stock worth $175,434 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 1st quarter valued at $129,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 1st quarter worth $47,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 94.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 2nd quarter valued at $409,000. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Ares Commercial Real Estate

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Commercial Real Estate this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share (ex-dividend March 31; pay April 15), implying a roughly 10.5% yield — a clear cash-return signal that can support the share price.
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell meaningfully in January (down ~14.2% to ~1.68M shares; ~3.1% of float; short-interest ratio ~3.3 days), which reduces one source of selling pressure and may amplify upside on positive news.
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat estimates: reported revenue of $13.22M vs. consensus ~$11.38M, and management emphasized active portfolio reshaping with targeted resolutions of risk-rated loans in 2026 — actions that could improve future cash flow if executions go as planned. Portfolio Reshaping Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s Q4 earnings call balanced acknowledgement of risks with plans to address problem loans — helpful for transparency but leaves outcomes dependent on execution and market conditions. Earnings Call Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: EPS reporting confusion and an apparent miss: several outlets and filings show ACRE reported ($0.07) EPS, missing the consensus ~$0.01 estimate, which stresses profitability and capital-market perceptions; note some outlets reported a different EPS figure, creating short-term uncertainty. Earnings Miss Article
• Negative Sentiment: New risk disclosure: TipRanks flagged that ACRE’s fee-driven loan-sales model faces heightened market and liquidity risks — this increases vulnerability to adverse market conditions and could pressure future earnings or capital actions if liquidity tightens. Risk Disclosure

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.