Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Invests $69,000 in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 11,670 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $69,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 211.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 5,252 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 160.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 11,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 472.0% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 14,301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 11,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the fourth quarter valued at $92,000. Institutional investors own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Down 2.3 %

ACRE stock opened at $4.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $248.23 million, a PE ratio of -6.96 and a beta of 1.57. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a 1 year low of $4.48 and a 1 year high of $7.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.26%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -92.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Commercial Real Estate news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,615 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.68, for a total transaction of $43,253.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 78,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,084.80. This represents a 8.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ACRE. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.81.

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.