Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Ares Commercial Real Estate a consensus “Reduce” rating: Two recommend selling, four rate it a hold, and one recommends buying. The average 12-month price target is $5.25, with several brokerages recently lowering targets.
• ACRE reported quarterly earnings of $0.12 per share, exceeding the $0.04 consensus estimate, while revenue of $14.36 million also topped expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equivalent to an annualized 12.3% yield at the reported share price, despite a negative payout ratio and negative net margin.

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $5.25.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ACRE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $5.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ACRE. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 456.0% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 603.3% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 6,513 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5,587 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 100.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,367 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 5,192 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.34% of the company's stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

NYSE ACRE opened at $4.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.91 million, a P/E ratio of -60.81 and a beta of 1.15. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1-year low of $4.11 and a 1-year high of $5.89. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $4.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.89.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.08. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 8.04% and a positive return on equity of 4.08%. The firm had revenue of $14.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.96 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -750.00%.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation NYSE: ACRE is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) primarily focused on commercial real estate debt investments. Externally managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation, ACRE seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through its diversified portfolio of CRE financing strategies. The company specializes in originating, acquiring, financing and managing first mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and other structured finance products.

Since its inception, Ares Commercial Real Estate has targeted a broad range of property types, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets.

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