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

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) saw a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,690,000 shares, a decline of 11.1% from the October 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 449,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock traded up $0.08 on Monday, reaching $6.98. The company had a trading volume of 423,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,195. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $6.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.98. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1 year low of $6.25 and a 1 year high of $11.24. The firm has a market cap of $380.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.85 and a beta of 1.46. 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 Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is currently -84.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACRE. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 86,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 20,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,492 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 2,769 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ACRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.10.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

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.