Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.10.

A number of research analysts have commented on ACRE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter worth $894,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 26.9% during the second 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 during the period. Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter valued at $630,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 279.8% in the third 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. Finally, Curated Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 200.0% in the second quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 20,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares during the period. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

ACRE opened at $7.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.01 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.89 and a 200 day moving average of $6.98. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a fifty-two week low of $6.25 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.09%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is -84.75%.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

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.