JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Price Target to $6.50

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $7.00 to $6.50 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on ACRE. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.10.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of ACRE opened at $6.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $6.99 and its 200-day moving average is $7.01. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12-month low of $6.36 and a 12-month high of $11.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $363.56 million, a P/E ratio of -8.04 and a beta of 1.45.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -120.48%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter worth about $68,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 1st quarter valued at about $84,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter valued at about $82,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1,329,500.0% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 13,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter worth approximately $108,000. 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.