Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Analysts

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.63.

ARI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARI traded down $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $8.80. The stock had a trading volume of 815,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,662. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.57 and a beta of 1.74. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a twelve month low of $8.52 and a twelve month high of $12.00. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $9.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 46.13 and a current ratio of 46.13.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.36%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is currently -108.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,621 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 48,584 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,502 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 70,256 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 9.0% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 28,872 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 2,382 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.