Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Declares $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

Ares Commercial Real Estate has decreased its dividend by an average of 9.6% annually over the last three years. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a dividend payout ratio of 111.1% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of ACRE stock opened at $4.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.22 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $5.20 and a 200 day moving average of $6.18. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $4.61 and a 52 week high of $7.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACRE shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Commercial Real Estate presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Commercial Real Estate

In related news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,615 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.68, for a total transaction of $43,253.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 78,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,084.80. This represents a 8.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

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.