Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Short Interest Update

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,230,000 shares, a decrease of 10.8% from the May 31st total of 2,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 559,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE ACRE traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $6.76. 41,144 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 650,720. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $6.91 and its 200 day moving average is $8.02. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $6.36 and a 52 week high of $11.24.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $18.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.77 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a positive return on equity of 0.84% and a negative net margin of 54.60%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post -2.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is presently -120.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ACRE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TheStreet cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $10.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.42.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 136,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 34,491 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2,609.3% in the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 570,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,909,000 after acquiring an additional 549,280 shares in the last quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC now owns 416,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,312,000 after acquiring an additional 6,588 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 14.4% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 51,638 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 6,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.