Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.08, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $14.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.96 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 37.21% and a negative return on equity of 2.80%.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

NYSE:ACRE traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $4.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 463,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 471,317. The firm has a market capitalization of $261.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.10 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.90. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1 year low of $4.05 and a 1 year high of $5.89.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -166.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACRE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $5.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 947.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 647,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after acquiring an additional 585,711 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter worth about $2,685,000. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,441,000. North Ground Capital increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 1,551,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,418,000 after purchasing an additional 393,943 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 95.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 391,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 190,900 shares during the period. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

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.