Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during 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 volume of 559,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $6.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 41,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,720. The business has a fifty day moving average of $6.91 and a 200 day moving average of $8.02. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 1-year low of $6.36 and a 1-year high of $11.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

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

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 33.7% during 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 acquiring 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 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 570,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,909,000 after purchasing an additional 549,280 shares during the last quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC now owns 416,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 6,588 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 14.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.