Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Given New $6.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $7.00 to $6.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ACRE. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.90.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 3.9 %

Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $5.64 on Tuesday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a fifty-two week low of $5.33 and a fifty-two week high of $10.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.62 million, a PE ratio of -4.78 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $6.66 and its 200-day moving average is $6.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 17.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is -84.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACRE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 187.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 415,332 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,907,000 after acquiring an additional 270,791 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 279.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 51,435 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the third quarter worth approximately $253,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 23.0% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 149,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 27,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,052,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,627,000 after buying an additional 23,845 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

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.