Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $6.81 and last traded at $7.0050, with a volume of 1271307 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARI. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday. BTIG Research lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $915.97 million, a PE ratio of 8.65 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 81.81 and a quick ratio of 81.80.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.07). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 48.01%.The company had revenue of $58.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.85 million. Equities research analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $3.75 dividend. This represents a $15.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 214.1%. This is an increase from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 123.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $49,993.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 24,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $271,053.07. The trade was a 15.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 388.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 61.7% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 3rd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,037 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.