Bard Associates Inc. Sells 2,847 Shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE)

Bard Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. (NYSE:ACRE) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,847 shares during the quarter. Bard Associates Inc. owned about 0.21% of Ares Commercial Real Estate worth $689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 211.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 5,252 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 17.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,733 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 160.9% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 11,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in the third quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate by 57.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 11,388 shares in the last quarter. 41.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACRE opened at $4.70 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $5.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.46. Ares Commercial Real Estate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $4.63 and a fifty-two week high of $7.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.23 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ares Commercial Real Estate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -92.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Commercial Real Estate in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group cut their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Ares Commercial Real Estate from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ares Commercial Real Estate from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned 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 $6.05.

Insider Transactions at Ares Commercial Real Estate

In other news, VP Anton Feingold sold 7,615 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.68, for a total transaction of $43,253.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 78,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,084.80. This represents a 8.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

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.