Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 16.6% in April to 1,835,931 shares (about 3.4% of the stock) with a days-to-cover ratio of 4.8, signaling reduced bearish positioning.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.15 (annualized yield ~11.5%) but shows a negative payout ratio (reported as -3,000%), reflecting weak/negative earnings coverage.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-negative: MarketBeat's consensus is "Reduce" with an average target of $5.38 (1 Buy, 3 Hold, 2 Sell among recent analysts).

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,835,931 shares, a drop of 16.6% from the March 31st total of 2,201,705 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 380,169 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter worth $129,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter worth $166,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter worth $47,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 6.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 83,886 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 5,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter worth $187,000. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on ACRE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $5.38.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

ACRE opened at $5.24 on Friday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52-week low of $4.01 and a 52-week high of $5.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $289.85 million, a PE ratio of -261.75 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $5.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.99.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate's payout ratio is presently -3,000.00%.

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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