Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 151,206 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 14,759 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.28% of Ares Commercial Real Estate worth $891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 211.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 5,252 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 160.9% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 11,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 17.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the third quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 37,339 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 6,072 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ares Commercial Real Estate

In related news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.68, for a total transaction of $43,253.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 78,360 shares in the company, valued at $445,084.80. This represents a 8.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $4.77 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.22. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a 52-week low of $4.61 and a 52-week high of $7.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.34 and a beta of 1.57.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -92.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ACRE. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.81.

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.