Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• ARI has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", based on coverage from seven firms: five hold ratings and two buy ratings. The average 1-year price target is $11.125.
• The company missed its latest quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.22 EPS versus the $0.29 consensus and revenue of $58.63 million versus $77.85 million expected.
• Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance announced a sharply higher quarterly dividend of $3.75 per share, up from $0.25 previously, implying an annualized yield of 139.1%.

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.1250.

ARI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $11.50 price objective on the stock. BTIG Research cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total value of $49,993.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $271,053.07. This trade represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 388.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 61.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,037 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 0.1%

ARI opened at $10.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 81.80, a current ratio of 81.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52 week low of $9.49 and a 52 week high of $11.24. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $10.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.57.

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

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $3.75 per share. This is a boost from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 139.1%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.46%.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

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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