Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - What's Next?

Key Points

• Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) saw unusually heavy trading volume, with 2.8 million shares changing hands, up 35% from the prior session, while the stock slipped to $6.895 from $7.02.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but tilted toward caution: the stock currently carries a Hold consensus rating and a consensus price target of $11.33, after several recent downgrades and neutral ratings.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend sharply to $3.75 per share, but its latest earnings missed expectations and the payout ratio remains elevated at 123.46%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 2,798,323 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 35% from the previous session's volume of 2,080,314 shares.The stock last traded at $6.8950 and had previously closed at $7.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. 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. BTIG Research downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $11.50 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $912.05 million, a PE ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 1.35. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $10.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.58. 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 (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 the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $77.85 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $3.75 dividend. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 215.1%. This is an increase from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $49,993.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,053.07. The trade was a 15.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,395 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 1st quarter valued at about $245,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 61.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3,473.7% during the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 13,330 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 12,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 17.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 382,239 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,036,000 after acquiring an additional 56,746 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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