Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 73,017 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $430,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.13% of Ares Commercial Real Estate at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 211.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 5,252 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 160.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 11,838 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 17.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 37,339 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 6,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 3rd quarter worth $253,000. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACRE has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.56.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ACRE traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $3.57. The stock had a trading volume of 743,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 565,642. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $4.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a one year low of $3.35 and a one year high of $7.99. The company has a market capitalization of $195.57 million, a P/E ratio of -5.48 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate's dividend payout ratio is currently -92.31%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Commercial Real Estate

In other news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,615 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.68, for a total transaction of $43,253.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 78,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,084.80. The trade was a 8.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate 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.