Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) VP Anton Feingold Sells 7,615 Shares

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) VP Anton Feingold sold 7,615 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.68, for a total value of $43,253.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 78,360 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE ACRE opened at $5.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $319.33 million, a PE ratio of -4.96 and a beta of 1.50. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a 52 week low of $5.33 and a 52 week high of $9.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.73.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.08%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is presently -84.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ACRE shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Commercial Real Estate has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 187.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 415,332 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 270,791 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 591,036 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,481,000 after buying an additional 96,551 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 279.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 51,435 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 3rd quarter worth $253,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 149,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 27,900 shares during the period. 41.34% of the stock is currently 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.