Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.3750.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ACRE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $4.57 on Friday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12-month low of $4.05 and a 12-month high of $5.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $253.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.69 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.01.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $13.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.64 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 37.21% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.1%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is presently -166.67%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the third quarter valued at $2,679,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 947.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 647,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after buying an additional 585,711 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter valued at $2,685,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the fourth quarter valued at $2,441,000. Finally, North Ground Capital grew its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 1,551,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,418,000 after buying an additional 393,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: ACRE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) primarily focused on commercial real estate debt investments. Externally managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation, ACRE seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through its diversified portfolio of CRE financing strategies. The company specializes in originating, acquiring, financing and managing first mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and other structured finance products.

Since its inception, Ares Commercial Real Estate has targeted a broad range of property types, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets.