Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.3333.

Several equities analysts have commented on ARI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America began coverage on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BTIG Research cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock opened at $6.79 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.50. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a one year low of $6.74 and a one year high of $11.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 81.81 and a quick ratio of 81.80. The firm has a market cap of $888.51 million, a PE ratio of 8.39 and a beta of 1.35.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.07). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 48.01% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The company had revenue of $58.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.85 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $3.75 dividend. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 220.8%. This is a positive change from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.46%.

Insider Activity at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total value of $49,993.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,799 shares in the company, valued at $271,053.07. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the first quarter valued at approximately $9,332,000. No Street GP LP increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,390,000 after buying an additional 750,000 shares in the last quarter. Waterfall Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,557,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 710.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 636,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 557,850 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2,573.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 504,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,879,000 after purchasing an additional 485,203 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI’s investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.