Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold”, with four hold ratings and two buy ratings; the average 12-month price target is $11.125.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed estimates, reporting EPS of $0.22 versus $0.29 expected and revenue of $58.63 million versus $77.85 million expected.
• ARI also pays a high dividend yield of about 9.1%, but its payout ratio is elevated at 123.46%, which may raise sustainability concerns.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.1250.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ARI shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $11.50 target price for the company.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Up 0.7%

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock opened at $11.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 1.35. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a fifty-two week low of $9.49 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $10.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 81.80 and a current ratio of 81.81.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $58.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.85 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 48.01%. Equities research analysts forecast that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is presently 123.46%.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $49,993.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,799 shares in the company, valued at $271,053.07. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARI. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the first quarter valued at about $9,332,000. No Street GP LP raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 33.3% during the third quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,390,000 after acquiring an additional 750,000 shares during the last quarter. Waterfall Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,557,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 710.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 636,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,160,000 after acquiring an additional 557,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2,573.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 504,054 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,879,000 after acquiring an additional 485,203 shares during the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc NYSE: ARI is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI's investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.

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