Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Shares Gap Down to $9.93

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $9.93, but opened at $9.71. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares last traded at $9.69, with a volume of 213,372 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. TheStreet raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $10.50 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.38.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 52.35 and a quick ratio of 52.35.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.30%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is -179.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.60, for a total transaction of $424,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 415,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,402,095.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total transaction of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,250. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.60, for a total value of $424,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 415,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,402,095.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. H&H Retirement Design & Management INC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. H&H Retirement Design & Management INC now owns 33,644 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the period. MAS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 30,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 1,537 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,711 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 28,386 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 114,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,117 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.