Brokerages Set Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) PT at $5.33

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.3333.

Several research firms have weighed in on ACRE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,606 shares of the 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 $37,497.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 92,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,277.22. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Michael Gonzales sold 6,218 shares of the firm’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 $30,654.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $436,467.69. This represents a 6.56% 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,110,321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,028,000 after acquiring an additional 74,453 shares during the last quarter. North Ground Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 1,551,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,418,000 after purchasing an additional 393,943 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,315,902 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,935,000 after buying an additional 37,062 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 759,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,629,000 after buying an additional 165,193 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 947.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 647,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,095,000 after purchasing an additional 585,711 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $4.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $270.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -244.05 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.93. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $3.35 and a 52 week high of $5.89.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is -3,000.00%.

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.