Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stake by 25% in the first quarter, selling 213,593 shares and retaining 640,301 shares valued at approximately $6.76 million. Institutional investors collectively own 54.43% of ARI.
• ARI reported quarterly EPS of $0.22, below the $0.29 consensus estimate, while revenue of $58.63 million also missed expectations of $77.85 million. The stock opened at $6.71, near its 52-week low of $6.65.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an $11.33 target price. Recent actions included downgrades from BTIG Research and Wall Street Zen, despite the company announcing a sharply increased quarterly dividend.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 25.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 640,301 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 213,593 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $6,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,892 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 47,757.1% during the 4th quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 6,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 6,686 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 1.0%

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

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). The business had revenue of $58.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.85 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 48.01% and a return on equity of 7.87%. Equities research analysts forecast that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 223.7%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's payout ratio is presently 123.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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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