Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Earns "Market Perform" Rating from Citizens Jmp

Key Points

• Citizens JMP reiterated its “market perform” rating on Ares Commercial Real Estate, while the broader analyst picture remains cautious with an average “Reduce” rating and consensus target price of $5.38.
• Several other firms have turned more bearish recently, including Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen downgrades, while JPMorgan and KBW both cut price targets to $5.50.
• The stock was trading around $4.40, below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and the company recently reported $0.06 EPS versus estimates of $0.08 despite revenue topping expectations.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market perform" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Citizens Jmp in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ACRE. 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $5.50 target price for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $5.38.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 0.9%

Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $4.40 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $244.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.22 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's fifty day moving average is $4.80 and its 200 day moving average is $4.95. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52-week low of $4.05 and a 52-week high of $5.89.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.02). Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative return on equity of 2.80% and a negative net margin of 37.21%.The business had revenue of $13.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.63 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

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

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

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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