Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Downgraded to “Strong Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on ACRE. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.00 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.80 to $4.25 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.31.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

NYSE:ACRE opened at $4.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.57 million, a P/E ratio of -12.22, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $4.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.68. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a fifty-two week low of $3.35 and a fifty-two week high of $7.83.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is presently -176.47%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 142,720 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 7,605 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 44.5% during the 2nd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 226,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 69,881 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 2nd quarter worth $409,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 94.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 82,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 8,048 shares during the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, a specialty finance company, originates and invests in commercial real estate (CRE) loans and related investments in the United States. It provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. The company originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt and preferred equity products, mezzanine loans, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities.