Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 5,099,550 shares, a growth of 26.7% from the February 26th total of 4,025,818 shares. Approximately 3.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,400,972 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

ARI traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $10.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,662,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,532,085. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a twelve month low of $7.70 and a twelve month high of $11.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 96.78 and a current ratio of 96.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.22.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 46.66% and a return on equity of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $73.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.97 million. Equities research analysts predict that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.5%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is presently 125.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,298,362 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,588,000 after purchasing an additional 56,377 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,167,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,662,000 after purchasing an additional 9,273 shares during the period. No Street GP LP boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,390,000 after purchasing an additional 750,000 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,085,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,130,000 after buying an additional 134,308 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 50.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,498,000 after buying an additional 432,377 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ARI shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI’s investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.