Brokerages Set Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Price Target at $5.25

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) has received a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.25.

Several brokerages have weighed in on ACRE. Wall Street Zen lowered Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 27,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 2,284 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 41,019 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 36.0% during the 4th quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 16,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 4,445 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 232,262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 4,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted 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 worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

NYSE:ACRE opened at $4.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.88. The firm has a market cap of $262.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.13 and a beta of 1.15. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $4.14 and a 52 week high of $5.89.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $14.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.96 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a positive return on equity of 4.08% and a negative net margin of 8.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -750.00%.

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.