JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 111.8% in Q3 to 689,903 shares (0.50% ownership) worth about $6.99 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 ($1.00 annualized) with an ex‑dividend date of March 31 and a yield of 9.5%, though the payout ratio stands at 125%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but consensus is a Hold with a $11.00 price target; ARI reported $0.26 EPS (in line) and a revenue beat for the most recent quarter.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 111.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 689,903 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 364,098 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.50% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $6,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. No Street GP LP raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 33.3% in the third quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,390,000 after buying an additional 750,000 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,085,917 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $21,130,000 after acquiring an additional 134,308 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,072 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,498,000 after acquiring an additional 432,377 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,033,295 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,467,000 after acquiring an additional 34,521 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 774,154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,842,000 after acquiring an additional 139,336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of ARI stock opened at $10.57 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 96.78, a quick ratio of 96.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12-month low of $7.70 and a 12-month high of $11.20. The business's 50 day moving average is $10.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.52.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26. The business had revenue of $73.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $46.97 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 46.66%. Analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.5%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is currently 125.00%.

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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