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

Key Points

• Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from six analysts, with an average target price of $10.31.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, which equates to an annualized dividend yield of 9.7%.
• CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,073 shares of the company, representing a 15.60% decrease in his ownership stake.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment 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 analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $10.3125.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $10.75 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:ARI opened at $10.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -73.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.57. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 1 year low of $7.70 and a 1 year high of $11.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $10.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.78. The company has a current ratio of 98.25, a quick ratio of 98.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -714.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,073 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $561,346.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,037,599.18. This trade represents a 15.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.3% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 66,084 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 3,325 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 56.3% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 40,972 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 14,757 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 7.4% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 435,113 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,212,000 after purchasing an additional 29,905 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 310.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,411 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 10,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the second quarter valued at about $1,368,000. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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