Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Director Sells $49,993.82 in Stock

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 $271,053.07. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of ARI stock opened at $10.85 on Monday. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52-week low of $9.39 and a 52-week high of $11.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.74 and its 200-day moving average is $10.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 81.80 and a current ratio of 81.81.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last posted its quarterly 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). The business 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 return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 48.01%. Sell-side analysts predict that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is currently 123.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ARI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised 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, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,298,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,588,000 after buying an additional 56,377 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,662,000 after acquiring an additional 9,273 shares in the last quarter. No Street GP LP increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 33.3% during the third quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,390,000 after acquiring an additional 750,000 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,085,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,130,000 after purchasing an additional 134,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,498,000 after purchasing an additional 432,377 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.