Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold"

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

ARI has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.00.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Up 5.6 %

Shares of ARI stock opened at $8.63 on Wednesday. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 1-year low of $7.70 and a 1-year high of $11.20. The company has a current ratio of 51.19, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.08 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.42 and a 200-day moving average of $9.15.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a negative net margin of 39.40% and a positive return on equity of 9.37%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total value of $109,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,855.04. This trade represents a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $520,219.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 327.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 783.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 3,872 shares during the last quarter. CF Capital LLC bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

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.

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