Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock opened at $10.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 96.78 and a current ratio of 96.78. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 1 year low of $8.27 and a 1 year high of $11.24.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The business had revenue of $73.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.97 million. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 46.66% and a return on equity of 7.94%. Equities analysts forecast that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently 125.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARI. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1,047.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 47,757.1% during the 4th quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 6,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 6,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 7,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI’s investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.