Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Stock Rating Upgraded by BTIG Research

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at BTIG Research from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $11.00 target price on the real estate investment trust's stock. BTIG Research's target price would indicate a potential upside of 27.54% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on ARI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.50.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 5.6 %

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

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 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%. Analysts forecast that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 327.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 783.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the period. CF Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter worth $67,000. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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