Short Interest in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Declines By 32.4%

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,829,386 shares, a drop of 32.4% from the June 30th total of 7,143,753 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,832,427 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 3.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $49,993.82. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,053.07. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 388.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 2,589 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,037 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 61.7% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the third quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. 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. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Up 2.2%

ARI traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.64. 3,187,566 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,958,588. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52 week low of $6.43 and a 52 week 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 fifty day moving average of $9.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $868.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $3.75 per share. This is an increase from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 225.7%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 123.46%.

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.