Brokerages Set Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Price Target at $10.31

Key Points

• Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by five analysts, with an average 1-year price objective of $10.31.
• CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares at an average price of $9.83, representing a 13.49% decrease in his position in the firm.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, yielding 9.4%, with a total annualized dividend of $1.00.

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three 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 brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.3125.

ARI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $10.75 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.83, for a total transaction of $511,887.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 333,854 shares in the company, valued at $3,281,784.82. The trade was a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 39.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 55.6% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,059 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 94.1% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,909 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

ARI stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $10.69. 676,904 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 684,452. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.70. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 1-year low of $7.70 and a 1-year high of $10.71. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.36, a PEG ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 98.25, a current ratio of 98.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.4%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's payout ratio is presently -714.29%.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

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.