Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,860,000 shares, a growth of 12.7% from the September 15th total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 480,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate stock opened at $6.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Ares Commercial Real Estate has a 52 week low of $6.36 and a 52 week high of $11.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $7.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $370.10 million, a PE ratio of -8.18 and a beta of 1.45.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.73%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is -120.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter worth about $82,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter valued at about $84,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1,329,500.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 13,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate in the first quarter worth about $108,000. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Commercial Real Estate currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.20.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Company 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.