Barclays PLC Purchases 51,435 Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

Barclays PLC boosted its position in Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) by 279.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,435 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Ares Commercial Real Estate were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACRE. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 10.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 206,143 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 19,626 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 524,694 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,489,000 after buying an additional 111,194 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 86,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Ares Commercial Real Estate by 12.7% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 84,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its position 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 valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 13,295 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Price Performance

ACRE stock opened at $5.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $324.52 million, a P/E ratio of -5.04 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $6.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a 52-week low of $5.77 and a 52-week high of $10.53.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 16.81%. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -84.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $7.50 to $7.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.10.

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.