Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Shareholders Set to Receive $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, January 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st.

Ares Commercial Real Estate has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.1% annually over the last three years. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a dividend payout ratio of 260.9% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Ares Commercial Real Estate to earn $0.54 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 111.1%.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

ACRE stock opened at $3.65 on Friday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52-week low of $3.16 and a 52-week high of $5.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.69 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $3.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.63.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $13.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.87 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 8.04% and a positive return on equity of 4.08%. Equities analysts expect that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. North Ground Capital bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,544,000. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,060,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter valued at approximately $21,024,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter valued at approximately $719,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 88.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 84,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 39,800 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation is a specialty finance company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company originates and invests in commercial real estate loans, with a primary focus on senior mortgage loans secured by properties in the United States.

Its investment portfolio may include loans backed by multifamily, office, industrial, retail, hotel and other commercial properties. Ares Commercial Real Estate generally targets transitional and other commercial real estate assets that require financing for acquisition, redevelopment, renovation or repositioning.