Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Rating Increased to Hold 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 report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:ARI opened at $6.39 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $7.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.43. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52 week low of $6.36 and a 52 week high of $11.24. The stock has a market cap of $822.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $3.75 per share. This is a boost from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 234.6%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is 125.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARI. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,880,000. Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the second quarter worth $193,000. Finally, Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $144,000. Hedge funds and other 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 investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires and manages commercial real estate debt investments. The company primarily seeks income from loans and other financing arrangements secured by commercial properties.

Its investment activities may include senior mortgage loans, subordinate and mezzanine financing, preferred equity investments, commercial mortgage-backed securities and other commercial real estate-related assets.