Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,690,000 shares, a decline of 11.1% from the October 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 449,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 211.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 5,252 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter valued at about $68,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter valued at about $82,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 17.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter valued at about $84,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ACRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.10.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

ACRE stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.04. 104,881 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 571,105. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $6.25 and a 52 week high of $11.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.98.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -84.75%.

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.