Analysts Set Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) Target Price at $5.25

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.25.

Several research firms have weighed in on ACRE. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 target price on the stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Down 5.1%

NYSE ACRE opened at $4.62 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.88. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $4.11 and a 52 week high of $5.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.32 million, a P/E ratio of -57.75 and a beta of 1.15.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative net margin of 8.04% and a positive return on equity of 4.08%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.4 EPS for the current year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.0%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is presently -750.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 1st quarter worth approximately $129,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 1st quarter worth approximately $166,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 6.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 83,886 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 5,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter worth approximately $187,000. 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.