Short Interest in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Drops By 9.2%

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) saw a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, a drop of 9.2% from the January 15th total of 1,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 591,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Ares Commercial Real Estate

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ACRE. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 3rd quarter valued at about $147,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 57.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 11,388 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 88,093 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,593 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 3rd quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 23.0% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 149,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 27,900 shares during the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ACRE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.60.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE ACRE opened at $5.05 on Wednesday. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a one year low of $4.95 and a one year high of $8.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.75 million, a PE ratio of -4.28 and a beta of 1.50.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.89%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio is presently -92.31%.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

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.