Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (ACRE) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 31st

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st.

Ares Commercial Real Estate has decreased its dividend by an average of 9.6% annually over the last three years. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a dividend payout ratio of 111.1% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of ACRE stock opened at $4.70 on Friday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52-week low of $4.61 and a 52-week high of $7.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.20 and its 200 day moving average is $6.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $257.55 million, a PE ratio of -7.22 and a beta of 1.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,615 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.68, for a total transaction of $43,253.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 78,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,084.80. This represents a 8.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Commercial Real Estate presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.81.

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.