Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Shares Sold by Merrion Investment Management Co LLC

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 167,351 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 13,000 shares during the quarter. Ares Commercial Real Estate makes up about 0.9% of Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate were worth $1,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 136,850 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 34,491 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2,609.3% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 570,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,909,000 after acquiring an additional 549,280 shares during the last quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC lifted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC now owns 416,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,312,000 after acquiring an additional 6,588 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 51,638 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 6,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of ACRE traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.65. 1,107,690 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 519,017. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.10. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $6.36 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29.

Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.64) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.30) by ($0.34). The firm had revenue of $18.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.77 million. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a positive return on equity of 0.84% and a negative net margin of 54.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. will post -2.4 EPS for the current year.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.04%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is currently -120.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $10.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.42.

Ares Commercial Real Estate 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.