Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ARI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.00.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ARI opened at $8.34 on Tuesday. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52 week low of $7.70 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.16. The company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -8.77 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 51.19, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a positive return on equity of 9.37% and a negative net margin of 39.40%. Equities analysts predict that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -105.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $520,219.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,855,420.72. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total value of $109,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,624 shares in the company, valued at $95,855.04. This trade represents a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 327.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 783.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 3,872 shares during the last quarter. CF Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.