Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $8.18 and last traded at $8.34, with a volume of 310417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ARI. UBS Group raised their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 51.19 and a quick ratio of 51.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $9.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.19.

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

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.35%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -105.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total transaction of $109,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $95,855.04. This trade represents a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $520,219.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at $3,855,420.72. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARI. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 41,119 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of 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 during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 46,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 44,663 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 278,588 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,413,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is 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.