Inspire Investing LLC Buys 4,926 Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) by 10.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC owned about 0.10% of Ares Commercial Real Estate worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ACRE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,783,379 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $20,736,000 after purchasing an additional 34,611 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 790,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,889,000 after acquiring an additional 81,534 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2,609.3% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 570,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,909,000 after purchasing an additional 549,280 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 26.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 524,694 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,489,000 after purchasing an additional 111,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Relative Value Partners Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC now owns 416,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 6,588 shares during the period. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

NYSE:ACRE opened at $7.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.72 million, a PE ratio of -8.88 and a beta of 1.45. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a 1-year low of $6.36 and a 1-year high of $11.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.57%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is -120.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACRE has been the subject of a number of research reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Friday, July 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.20.

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.