Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Short Interest Down 11.1% in October

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACRE. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Commercial Real Estate presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.10.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

Shares of ACRE stock traded up $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $7.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 104,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 571,105. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $6.88 and its 200-day moving average is $6.98. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a fifty-two week low of $6.25 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.20%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -84.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Commercial Real Estate

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,272,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,907,000 after buying an additional 16,309 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 279.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 51,435 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 19.1% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 71,772 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 11,511 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,052,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,627,000 after buying an additional 23,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.0% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 861,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,030,000 after buying an additional 8,900 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.