Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from “sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Reduce” with a $5.25 price target.
• ACRE shares opened at $4.72, with a 52-week range of $4.14 to $5.89 and a market capitalization of approximately $262 million.
• The REIT exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.12 in earnings per share versus the $0.04 consensus estimate and revenue of $14.36 million versus $10.96 million expected.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on ACRE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $5.50 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research raised Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

NYSE ACRE opened at $4.72 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.88. The firm has a market cap of $262.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.06 and a beta of 1.15. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1 year low of $4.14 and a 1 year high of $5.89.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a positive return on equity of 4.08% and a negative net margin of 8.04%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 456.0% in the third 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. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,587 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 100.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,367 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 5,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 1st quarter worth approximately $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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