450,770 Shares in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI Bought by Readystate Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Readystate Asset Management acquired 450,770 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, valued at approximately $4.76 million and representing about 0.34% of ARI. Institutional investors collectively own 54.43% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: ARI has an average “Hold” rating, with two Buy ratings and four Hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $11.33. Several firms recently downgraded or lowered their ratings.
• ARI reported quarterly EPS of $0.22, missing the $0.29 consensus estimate, while revenue of $58.63 million fell short of expectations. Shares opened at $6.75, near their 52-week low of $6.65.

Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 450,770 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $4,760,000. Readystate Asset Management LP owned about 0.34% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 8,618 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 1st quarter valued at about $245,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,332,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 41,339 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 4,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Manage LLC acquired a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the first quarter worth about $1,682,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ARI. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. BTIG Research downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $11.50 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of ARI stock opened at $6.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 81.80 and a current ratio of 81.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $881.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 1.35. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a one year low of $6.65 and a one year high of $11.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $10.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.41.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $58.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.85 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 48.01% and a return on equity of 7.87%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post -0.18 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $3.75 dividend. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 222.4%. This is a boost from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 123.46%.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $49,993.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 24,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,053.07. The trade was a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc NYSE: ARI is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI's investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.

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