JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Price Target to $5.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $5.00 while keeping a neutral rating. The new target still implies about 6.5% upside from the current share price.
• Broader analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $5.25. Recent calls include upgrades to hold, but also sell and market perform ratings from other firms.
• Ares Commercial Real Estate recently missed earnings estimates, reporting $0.06 EPS versus the expected $0.08, even though revenue came in above forecasts. The stock was trading around $4.70, near its 50-day moving average and below the new JPMorgan target.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $5.50 to $5.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.50% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $5.50 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $5.25.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 2.7%

NYSE:ACRE opened at $4.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $260.48 million, a P/E ratio of -13.04 and a beta of 1.15. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a twelve month low of $4.05 and a twelve month high of $5.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $4.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.92.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.02). Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 37.21% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%. The business had revenue of $13.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.63 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACRE. Attessa Capital LLC bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter worth about $76,000. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 603.3% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 6,513 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 5,587 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 31.5% in the first quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 112,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 27,000 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 5.7% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 167,990 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 9,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 88.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 84,596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 39,800 shares during the period. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation NYSE: ACRE is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) primarily focused on commercial real estate debt investments. Externally managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation, ACRE seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through its diversified portfolio of CRE financing strategies. The company specializes in originating, acquiring, financing and managing first mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and other structured finance products.

Since its inception, Ares Commercial Real Estate has targeted a broad range of property types, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.