Intech Investment Management LLC Invests $96,000 in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $96,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,093 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,593 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 57.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 11,388 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 8.8% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 58,181 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 4,714 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 20,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $147,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ACRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.10.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

Shares of ACRE stock opened at $7.06 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.01. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a one year low of $6.25 and a one year high of $11.24. The firm has a market cap of $385.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.98 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is currently -84.75%.

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.