Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 617,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,040 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $5,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ARI. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,304,000 after purchasing an additional 196,122 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 139.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 302,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 176,101 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 329,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 130,892 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,063,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,210,000 after purchasing an additional 115,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 960.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 101,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 92,060 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of ARI stock opened at $10.00 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a current ratio of 51.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of -10.53 and a beta of 1.74. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.44 and a fifty-two week high of $11.64.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a positive return on equity of 9.37% and a negative net margin of 39.40%. Equities analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -105.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ARI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $8.75 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.44.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company 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.