Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Upgraded to “Buy” by Zacks Investment Research
Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE – Get Rating) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $18.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Zacks Investment Research’s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.80% from the stock’s current price.
According to Zacks, “Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation is a specialty finance company focused on originating, investing in and managing middle-market commercial real estate loans and other commercial real estate investments. The Company’s financing solutions are comprised of its target investments, which include the following: Transitional senior mortgage loans, Stretch senior mortgage loans, Subordinate debt mortgage loans and Other CRE debt and preferred equity investments. Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation is based in Chicago, Illinois. “
Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JMP Securities increased their objective price on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $16.00 to $16.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from $14.50 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $16.70.
NYSE ACRE traded down $0.46 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 646,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,552. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $722.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.26. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 12 month low of $13.48 and a 12 month high of $16.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $15.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.08.
Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 14th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.04. Ares Commercial Real Estate had a net margin of 59.23% and a return on equity of 9.83%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ares Commercial Real Estate will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.
In other Ares Commercial Real Estate news, Director William Stephen Benjamin acquired 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $14.05 per share, with a total value of $252,900.00. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 185.6% in the second quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 415,058 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,098,000 after buying an additional 269,735 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 84.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 78,418 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after buying an additional 35,871 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 21.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 34,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 6,211 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 13.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 396,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,983,000 after purchasing an additional 45,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monarch Partners Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 10.5% during the third quarter. Monarch Partners Asset Management LLC now owns 176,551 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,662,000 after purchasing an additional 16,761 shares in the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Ares Commercial Real Estate Company Profile (Get Rating)
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. The company provides a range of financing solutions for the owners, operators, and sponsors of CRE properties. It originates senior mortgage loans, subordinate debt products, mezzanine loans, real estate preferred equity investments, and other CRE investments, including commercial mortgage backed securities.
So see
Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Ares Commercial Real Estate (ACRE)
For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com
Receive News & Ratings for Ares Commercial Real Estate Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Ares Commercial Real Estate and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.