Brokerages Set Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Target Price at $11.13

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.1250.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

ARI opened at $10.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 81.80, a current ratio of 81.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $9.39 and a 12 month high of $11.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.37. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.37.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.07). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 48.01% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $58.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.85 million. On average, research analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.1%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 123.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARI. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1,047.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 388.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 61.7% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

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.