Bard Associates Inc. Decreases Stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

Bard Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,175 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,353 shares during the quarter. Bard Associates Inc. owned 0.21% of Ares Commercial Real Estate worth $835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ACRE. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $68,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the first quarter worth $84,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the 2nd quarter worth about $82,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 1,329,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 13,295 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate during the 1st quarter valued at about $108,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Friday, July 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.10.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of ACRE stock opened at $6.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.98. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $6.25 and a fifty-two week high of $11.24.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s payout ratio is -84.75%.

About Ares Commercial Real Estate

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.