Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Stock Rating Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Sunday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ARI. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. BTIG Research cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Shares of ARI stock opened at $6.25 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $6.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.28. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 1-year low of $6.18 and a 1-year high of $11.24. The company has a market cap of $803.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 1.36.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The real estate investment trust reported ($2.62) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $44.38 million during the quarter. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 55.49% and a return on equity of 7.39%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $3.75 per share. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 240.0%. This is a boost from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is currently 125.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 388.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 61.7% in 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 period. Finally, Markowski Investments acquired a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 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 (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires and manages commercial real estate debt investments. The company primarily seeks income from loans and other financing arrangements secured by commercial properties.

Its investment activities may include senior mortgage loans, subordinate and mezzanine financing, preferred equity investments, commercial mortgage-backed securities and other commercial real estate-related assets.