Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Stock Rating Lowered by Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has been downgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "hold (c-)" to a "sell (d+)" rating amidst mixed analyst opinions on the stock.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed a loss, missing consensus estimates with earnings per share of $0.24 against an expected $0.26.
• CEO Stuart Rothstein sold over 52,000 shares of the company, reducing his ownership by approximately 15.60%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $10.50 in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.75.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 0.1%

ARI traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $10.27. 731,048 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,069,778. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -73.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $10.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 98.25 and a quick ratio of 98.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a one year low of $7.70 and a one year high of $11.11.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $43.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.40 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a negative net margin of 1.49% and a positive return on equity of 8.42%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,073 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $561,346.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 281,781 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,296 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 20,278 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 36.9% during the third quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 34,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 9,200 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the third quarter worth $475,000. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the third quarter worth $222,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 93.5% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 23,684 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 11,447 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.

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