Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

ARI has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. BTIG Research cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE ARI opened at $6.24 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $801.45 million, a PE ratio of 7.79 and a beta of 1.40. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $6.11 and a 12 month high of $11.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.64 and a 200-day moving average of $9.04.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The real estate investment trust reported ($2.62) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $44.38 million for the quarter. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.39% and a net margin of 55.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $3.75 dividend. 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 240.6%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the second quarter worth approximately $127,411,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the first quarter worth approximately $9,332,000. Greenland Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the second quarter worth approximately $9,238,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 782,514 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,263,000 after purchasing an additional 146,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,767,000. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE:ARI) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in and manages commercial real estate debt. The company primarily focuses on loans secured by institutional-quality properties and seeks to generate income from a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate investments.

Its investments may include senior mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, subordinated debt and other commercial real estate-related financing arrangements.