Empyrean Capital Partners LP Purchases New Stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI

Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 883,751 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $9,332,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned about 0.67% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 388.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 61.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,656 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,037 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 1.0%

ARI opened at $6.71 on Tuesday. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52 week low of $6.65 and a 52 week high of $11.24. The company has a quick ratio of 81.80, a current ratio of 81.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.43. The firm has a market cap of $876.75 million, a P/E ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.35.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 48.01% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $58.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $77.85 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $3.75 per share. This is a positive change from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 223.7%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is 123.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $49,993.82. Following the sale, the director owned 24,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $271,053.07. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Profile

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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