Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Declares $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 10.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st.

Ares Commercial Real Estate has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a dividend payout ratio of 260.9% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ACRE traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $5.70. 1,925,417 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 597,507. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.40 million, a P/E ratio of -37.96, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.81. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a twelve month low of $3.35 and a twelve month high of $6.09.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.08). Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative return on equity of 5.15% and a negative net margin of 13.02%.The business had revenue of $13.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.38 million. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Commercial Real Estate news, CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 21,761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $107,281.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 250,197 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,471.21. This represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,606 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 transaction of $37,497.58. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 92,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,277.22. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 35,585 shares of company stock valued at $175,434 in the last three months. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,110,321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,028,000 after acquiring an additional 74,453 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.9% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 37,062 shares during the period. North Ground Capital purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the third quarter valued at about $5,222,000. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the third quarter worth about $2,679,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 24.4% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 564,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,545,000 after buying an additional 110,505 shares during the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.