Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ACRE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $4.75 to $5.50 in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.33.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE ACRE opened at $4.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $4.98 and its 200-day moving average is $4.77. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12-month low of $3.35 and a 12-month high of $6.09. The firm has a market cap of $258.90 million, a P/E ratio of -31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.26.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.17. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 13.02% and a negative return on equity of 5.15%. The company had revenue of $5.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.35 million. Equities analysts expect that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post -0.34 EPS for the current year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 21.8% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 24,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,309 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 44.5% during the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 226,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 69,881 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 51.7% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 24,424 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 8,323 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $409,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 10.1% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 119,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 11,014 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

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.