Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,324,692 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 941,625 shares.The stock last traded at $9.10 and had previously closed at $9.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ARI. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.63.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 0.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.84 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 46.13 and a quick ratio of 46.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $9.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.77.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Cuts Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.05%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is -108.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Luxor Capital Group LP bought a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,342,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,034,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after acquiring an additional 251,280 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 72.0% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,304,000 after acquiring an additional 196,122 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 139.4% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 302,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,779,000 after purchasing an additional 176,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 329,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 130,892 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.