Short Interest in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Drops By 15.3%

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,150,000 shares, a decrease of 15.3% from the October 15th total of 4,900,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of ARI traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.07. 1,236,905 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 954,525. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 46.13 and a current ratio of 46.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.15 and its 200 day moving average is $9.85. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 1-year low of $8.52 and a 1-year high of $12.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.86 and a beta of 1.75.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.03%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -108.70%.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARI. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 329,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,028,000 after buying an additional 130,892 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 619.3% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 87,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 75,046 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 139.4% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 302,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,779,000 after acquiring an additional 176,101 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.1% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 578,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,314,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the third quarter worth about $143,000. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ARI. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.63.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.