Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation $ACRE

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation by 6.1%, owning approximately 1.99% of the company valued at $5.067 million after purchasing 62,900 shares in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have issued mixed ratings, with UBS lowering its target price to $4.50 and a consensus rating of "Reduce," while Zacks Research upgraded the stock to a "hold" rating.
• Ares Commercial Real Estate recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 13.2%, despite a dividend payout ratio of -176.47%.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,094,490 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 62,900 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.99% of Ares Commercial Real Estate worth $5,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter valued at $28,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,045 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 4,950 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the fourth quarter valued at $123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.80 to $4.25 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $5.31.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock traded up $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $4.68. The company had a trading volume of 399,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,315. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $4.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.58. The firm has a market cap of $257.17 million, a PE ratio of -13.75 and a beta of 1.33. Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation has a 52-week low of $3.35 and a 52-week high of $7.83.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate's dividend payout ratio is presently -176.47%.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, a specialty finance company, originates and invests in commercial real estate (CRE) loans and related investments in the United States. It provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. The company originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt and preferred equity products, mezzanine loans, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities.