Bryan Patrick Donohoe Sells 21,761 Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Stock

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) CEO Bryan Patrick Donohoe sold 21,761 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.93, for a total transaction of $107,281.73. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 250,197 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,471.21. This represents a 8.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

Shares of ACRE traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $5.09. The stock had a trading volume of 675,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 575,640. Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation has a 1-year low of $3.35 and a 1-year high of $6.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.10 million, a P/E ratio of -33.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.77.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $5.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.35 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative return on equity of 5.15% and a negative net margin of 13.02%. Equities analysts predict that Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation will post -0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.8%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is presently -400.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACRE. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 456.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,948 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 94.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 3,396 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $4.75 to $5.50 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.33.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

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.