Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

ACRE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.10.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

NYSE ACRE opened at $6.12 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.01. The company has a market cap of $333.80 million, a PE ratio of -5.19 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $6.11 and a 52 week high of $11.24.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.34%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -84.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 279.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 51,435 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,272,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,907,000 after buying an additional 16,309 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 19.1% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 71,772 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 11,511 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,052,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,627,000 after buying an additional 23,845 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 861,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,030,000 after purchasing an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

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.