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

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $9.63.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group dropped 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 research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 0.5 %

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.12. 618,434 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 950,801. The company has a current ratio of 46.13, a quick ratio of 46.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $9.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.84. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a fifty-two week low of $8.52 and a fifty-two week high of $12.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.89 and a beta of 1.75.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.97%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -108.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,074,796 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,522,000 after buying an additional 19,611 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,034,316 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,126,000 after purchasing an additional 251,280 shares during the period. Luxor Capital Group LP purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $7,342,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.1% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 578,210 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,314,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 72.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468,335 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,304,000 after acquiring an additional 196,122 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.