Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Declares $0.35 Quarterly Dividend

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 13th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Friday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.35 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, January 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 29th.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 8.7% annually over the last three years. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a dividend payout ratio of 94.0% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Equities research analysts expect Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance to earn $1.32 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 106.1%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARI opened at $11.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 22.02 and a quick ratio of 22.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $11.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.21. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 1-year low of $7.91 and a 1-year high of $14.55. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ARI shares. Bank Of America (Bofa) started coverage on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, November 22nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group reduced their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance to $11.00 in a report on Thursday, October 13th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Monday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $11.00 to $9.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 24th.

Insiders Activity

In other news, CEO Stuart Rothstein purchased 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.18 per share, for a total transaction of $167,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 452,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,060,917.68. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARI. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 983.3% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 604,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,427,000 after purchasing an additional 549,100 shares in the last quarter. invesco ltd increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 24.6% during the 1st quarter. invesco ltd now owns 2,715,545 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,827,000 after purchasing an additional 536,101 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 214.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 774,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,792,000 after purchasing an additional 528,692 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,046,199 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $209,594,000 after purchasing an additional 435,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 78.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 922,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,849,000 after purchasing an additional 406,841 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.57% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States. It is qualified as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code.

read more

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

Before you consider Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on… and Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance wasn’t on the list.

While Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has a “Hold” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here