Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $11.21 and last traded at $10.6950, with a volume of 1879117 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ARI shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.88.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 90.32 and a quick ratio of 90.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $10.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.10. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.54.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $63.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.15 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 51.40% and a return on equity of 8.34%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.2%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,072 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.16, for a total transaction of $529,051.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 229,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,333,843.44. This represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 38,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,059 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAS Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.6% during the second quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 41,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. 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.