Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.3333.

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. BTIG Research lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 43.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 21,016 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 6,358 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,093 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,166 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,146,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 50.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,498,000 after acquiring an additional 432,377 shares during the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of ARI opened at $6.83 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.11. The stock has a market cap of $876.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 1.36. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $6.43 and a 12 month high of $11.24.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The real estate investment trust reported ($2.62) earnings per share for the quarter. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 55.49% and a return on equity of 7.39%. The company had revenue of $44.38 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $3.75 per share. This is an increase from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $15.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 219.5%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 125.00%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI’s investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.