Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Short Interest Update

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,829,386 shares, a decline of 32.4% from the June 30th total of 7,143,753 shares. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,832,427 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ARI shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BTIG Research lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.33.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 1.4%

ARI stock opened at $6.50 on Friday. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12-month low of $6.43 and a 12-month high of $11.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $9.85 and its 200 day moving average is $10.36. The company has a current ratio of 81.81, a quick ratio of 81.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $850.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.35.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $58.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.85 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 48.01% and a return on equity of 7.87%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post -0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $3.75 dividend. This represents a $15.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 230.6%. This is a positive change from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 123.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $49,993.82. Following the sale, the director directly owned 24,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $271,053.07. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 41.7% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,587 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 1st quarter worth approximately $245,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 61.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3,473.7% during the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 13,330 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 12,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 17.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 382,239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,036,000 after purchasing an additional 56,746 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

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.