Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.10.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACRE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

NYSE:ACRE opened at $5.73 on Friday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a twelve month low of $5.69 and a twelve month high of $10.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.53 million, a PE ratio of -4.86 and a beta of 1.51.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.45%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is -84.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACRE. FMR LLC grew its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 211.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 5,252 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter worth $82,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1,329,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 13,295 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 3rd quarter valued at about $96,000. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, a specialty finance company, originates and invests in commercial real estate (CRE) loans and related investments in the United States. It provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. The company originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt and preferred equity products, mezzanine loans, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities.