Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Stock Now Rated “Reduce” by Wall Street Brokerages

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) has received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $5.25.

ACRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ACRE opened at $3.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.71. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1-year low of $3.75 and a 1-year high of $5.89. The firm has a market cap of $214.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.44 and a beta of 1.19.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.08. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a positive return on equity of 4.08% and a negative net margin of 8.04%.The firm had revenue of $14.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.96 million. Analysts forecast that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is currently -750.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gratia Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 2nd quarter valued at about $248,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter valued at about $141,000. Highland Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter worth about $115,000. Finally, Almitas Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter valued at approximately $814,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: ACRE) is a specialty finance company focused on commercial real estate lending and related investments. It operates as a real estate investment trust and primarily seeks to generate income by originating and investing in loans secured by commercial properties.

The company’s portfolio has historically included senior mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and other forms of commercial real estate financing. Its lending activities support properties across a range of sectors, including office, multifamily, industrial, retail, hospitality and other commercial property types, with a focus on markets in the United States.

Founded in 2011 and publicly listed in 2012, Ares Commercial Real Estate is externally managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation.