Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC Acquires Shares of 25,411,467 Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI

Key Points

• Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased 25,411,467 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, marking an investment of approximately $271.9 million, which represents 18.29% ownership of the company.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, equating to an annual yield of 9.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 30th.
• Recent adjustments by analysts include a downgrade from Zacks to a "hold" rating, while UBS and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods have set target prices between $10.50 and $10.75 for the stock.

Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 25,411,467 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $271,921,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC owned about 18.29% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,909 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 2,864 shares during the last quarter. Accuvest Global Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 1st quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 1st quarter worth $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,073 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total transaction of $561,346.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,037,599.18. This trade represents a 15.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

ARI stock traded down $0.07 on Monday, reaching $10.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 800,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,100,052. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52 week low of $7.70 and a 52 week high of $11.11. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -74.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $10.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.77. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -714.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $10.75 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.31.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

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.