Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.88.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Activity at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other news, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total value of $109,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,855.04. The trade was a 53.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 73,074 shares of company stock valued at $724,579 over the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARI. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the first quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 121,682 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 21,156 shares in the last quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 58,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,036,715 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,921,000 after purchasing an additional 13,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARI traded up $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.48. The stock had a trading volume of 70,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,391. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.18. The company has a quick ratio of 51.19, a current ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52 week low of $7.70 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.95 and a beta of 1.41.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a negative net margin of 39.40% and a positive return on equity of 9.37%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.55%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -3,333.33%.

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.