Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Stock Has Average Target Price of $5.25 According to Analysts

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $5.25.

Several equities research analysts have commented on ACRE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Thursday, July 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter worth $21,024,000. North Ground Capital acquired a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,544,000. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,060,000. Alpine Global Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 759,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,629,000 after purchasing an additional 165,193 shares during the period. Finally, Almitas Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter valued at about $814,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of ACRE opened at $3.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.60 million, a P/E ratio of -47.90 and a beta of 1.19. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a twelve month low of $3.75 and a twelve month high of $5.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.47 and a 200-day moving average of $4.70.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.08. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 8.04% and a positive return on equity of 4.08%. The business had revenue of $14.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.96 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.7%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is currently -750.00%.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: ACRE) is a specialty finance company focused on commercial real estate lending and related investments. It operates as a real estate investment trust and primarily seeks to generate income by originating and investing in loans secured by commercial properties.

The company’s portfolio has historically included senior mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and other forms of commercial real estate financing. Its lending activities support properties across a range of sectors, including office, multifamily, industrial, retail, hospitality and other commercial property types, with a focus on markets in the United States.

Founded in 2011 and publicly listed in 2012, Ares Commercial Real Estate is externally managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation.