Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (ACRE) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 on July 15th

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 13.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th.

Ares Commercial Real Estate has decreased its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a dividend payout ratio of 260.9% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Ares Commercial Real Estate to earn $0.54 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 111.1%.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:ACRE opened at $4.50 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.55 million, a P/E ratio of -12.49 and a beta of 1.14. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $4.05 and a 52 week high of $5.89.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.02). Ares Commercial Real Estate had a negative return on equity of 2.80% and a negative net margin of 37.21%.The company had revenue of $13.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.63 million. On average, analysts expect that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ACRE shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $5.50 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $5.38.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE: ACRE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) primarily focused on commercial real estate debt investments. Externally managed by an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation, ACRE seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through its diversified portfolio of CRE financing strategies. The company specializes in originating, acquiring, financing and managing first mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity and other structured finance products.

Since its inception, Ares Commercial Real Estate has targeted a broad range of property types, including multifamily, office, industrial, retail and hospitality assets.