Palogic Value Management L.P. Increases Stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Palogic Value Management L.P. boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 120,134 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,513 shares during the period. Palogic Value Management L.P. owned about 0.09% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $1,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,263,378 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,601,000 after purchasing an additional 162,089 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,063,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,210,000 after purchasing an additional 115,109 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,022,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,859,000 after purchasing an additional 56,284 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 617,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,344,000 after purchasing an additional 16,040 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 578,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,314,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

ARI opened at $9.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a current ratio of 51.19. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $8.44 and a 52-week high of $11.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of -10.51 and a beta of 1.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.30.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a positive return on equity of 9.37% and a negative net margin of 39.40%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.02%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -105.26%.

Insider Activity at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total transaction of $109,560.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,624 shares in the company, valued at $95,855.04. The trade was a 53.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $520,219.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at $3,855,420.72. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on ARI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $8.75 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.08.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.