Short Interest in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Declines By 11.1%

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,690,000 shares, a decrease of 11.1% from the October 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 449,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report 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 decreased their price target for the company from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.10.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ACRE traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.90. The company had a trading volume of 351,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,979. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $6.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.98. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12 month low of $6.25 and a 12 month high of $11.24. The firm has a market cap of $376.33 million, a P/E ratio of -5.85 and a beta of 1.46.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 14.49%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate's payout ratio is -84.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter valued at approximately $894,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,783,379 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $20,736,000 after acquiring an additional 34,611 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 26.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 524,694 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,489,000 after acquiring an additional 111,194 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter valued at approximately $164,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.