Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Given Average Recommendation of "Reduce" by Analysts

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" by the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and five have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $7.10.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ACRE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter worth $894,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,783,379 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $20,736,000 after acquiring an additional 34,611 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 26.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 524,694 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,489,000 after acquiring an additional 111,194 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter worth $108,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 10.1% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 53,467 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 4,926 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of ACRE traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $7.15. The stock had a trading volume of 405,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 570,439. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.98. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a one year low of $6.25 and a one year high of $11.24. The firm has a market cap of $389.96 million, a PE ratio of -6.06 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.99%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate's payout ratio is -84.75%.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation, a specialty finance company, originates and invests in commercial real estate (CRE) loans and related investments in the United States. It provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. The company originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt and preferred equity products, mezzanine loans, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage-backed securities.