Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, June 10th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a dividend payout ratio of 98.0% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings tumble.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock traded up $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $10.05. The company had a trading volume of 2,018,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,129,654. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.57 and a beta of 1.48. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a twelve month low of $7.70 and a twelve month high of $11.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 51.19 and a quick ratio of 51.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.28 and a 200-day moving average of $9.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total value of $94,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $576,260.76. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $520,219.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. This trade represents a 11.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 43.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,016 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 6,358 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARI. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price target (up previously from $9.00) on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.13.

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.