Inspire Investing LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,045 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ARI. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.7% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 65,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.4% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 47,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 1,550 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 10.3% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,711 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 1,653 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 7.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 28,386 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.9% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 114,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after buying an additional 2,117 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ARI. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Scott Prince sold 4,935 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.12, for a total transaction of $49,942.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 81,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $821,278.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

ARI opened at $9.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.37, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.76. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.14 and a 1-year high of $12.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 54.21 and a quick ratio of 54.21.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Sunday, September 29th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.36%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is currently -128.21%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Profile

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.