Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Receives $10.88 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $10.8750.

Several analysts recently weighed in on ARI shares. Zacks Research downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

NYSE:ARI opened at $9.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.54. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 1 year low of $7.70 and a 1 year high of $11.11. The company has a current ratio of 90.32, a quick ratio of 90.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.08.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $63.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.15 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 51.40% and a return on equity of 8.34%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,072 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.16, for a total transaction of $529,051.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,333,843.44. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the first quarter worth $345,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 128,147 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after buying an additional 16,068 shares in the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,358,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 78,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 10,635 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

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.