Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE – Get a rating) experienced a significant increase in short-term interest during the month of December. As of December 15, there was short interest totaling 2,200,000 shares, an increase of 21.5% from the total of 1,810,000 shares as of November 30. Based on an average daily trading volume of 680,500 shares, the short interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.
Analyst upgrades and downgrades
A number of stock analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $13.50 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a Monday, October 24 research note. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a price target of $13.00 on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a Monday, October 31 research note. BTIG Research lowered its price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $16.50 to $14.00 in a Wednesday, November 2 research note. JMP Securities lowered its price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $15.00 to $13.50 and set a “market outperformance” rating for the company in a Friday, October 14 research note. To finish, StockNews.com Supposed coverage on Ares Commercial Real Estate in a Wednesday, October 12 research report. They have set a “holding” rating on the stock. Two analysts gave the stock a hold rating and three gave the company a buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.25.
Institutional investors weigh in on Ares Commercial Real Estate
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently changed their holdings in ACRE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new equity stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter for a value of approximately $13,895,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 52.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,952,740 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $23,881,000 after buying an additional 668,656 shares last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the second quarter at a value of approximately $8,022,000. Balyasny Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 605.8% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 619,937 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $6,478,000 after purchasing an additional 532,103 shares last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 8.6% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,294,662 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $44,879,000 after purchasing an additional 339,231 shares last quarter. 46.63% of the shares are currently held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading up 1.9%
Shares of NYSE ACRE opened at $10.29 on Friday. The company has a debt ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.22. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a fifty-two week low of $9.90 and a fifty-two week high of $16.48. The company has a market capitalization of $560.19 million, a price-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.30.
Ares Commercial Real Estate increases its dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 18. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 30 will receive a dividend of $0.35. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.40 and a dividend yield of 13.61%. This is an increase from Ares Commercial Real Estate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 29. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 145.05%.
About Ares Real Estate Commercial
Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp. engages in originating and investing in commercial real estate loans and related investments. Its target investments include first mortgages, subordinated debt, preferred stock, mezzanine loans and other CRE investments, as well as commercial mortgage-backed securities.
Further reading
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