Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder Sells 4,574 Shares of Stock

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $49,993.82. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,053.07. This trade represents a 15.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

ARI opened at $10.85 on Friday. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52-week low of $9.39 and a 52-week high of $11.24. The company has a quick ratio of 81.80, a current ratio of 81.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.37.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.07). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 48.01% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The company had revenue of $58.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.85 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 123.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,298,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,588,000 after purchasing an additional 56,377 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,662,000 after purchasing an additional 9,273 shares in the last quarter. No Street GP LP boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,390,000 after purchasing an additional 750,000 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,085,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,130,000 after purchasing an additional 134,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,498,000 after purchasing an additional 432,377 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARI has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.13.

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.