Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $9.09, but opened at $9.44. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares last traded at $9.14, with a volume of 209,102 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ARI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. BTIG Research raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.88.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $9.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of -9.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a current ratio of 51.19.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a positive return on equity of 9.37% and a negative net margin of 39.40%. On average, research analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's payout ratio is -3,333.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $520,219.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total transaction of $109,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,855.04. This trade represents a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARI. Barclays PLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 329,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 130,892 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 10,447 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the fourth quarter valued at about $129,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 46,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

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.