Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.20.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ACRE. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

ACRE opened at $6.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $361.65 million, a P/E ratio of -7.99 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $7.07 and a 200-day moving average of $7.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12-month low of $6.36 and a 12-month high of $11.24.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.07%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is currently -120.48%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,783,379 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $20,736,000 after purchasing an additional 34,611 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 11.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 790,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,889,000 after purchasing an additional 81,534 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2,609.3% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 570,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,909,000 after buying an additional 549,280 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 26.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 524,694 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after buying an additional 111,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 67.8% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 257,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,916,000 after buying an additional 103,902 shares during the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, a specialty finance company, originates and invests in commercial real estate (CRE) loans and related investments in the United States. It provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. The company originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt and preferred equity products, mezzanine loans, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities.