Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $7.84 Million Stock Position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 774,154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 139,336 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.56% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $7,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the second quarter worth approximately $5,323,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 50.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,498,000 after purchasing an additional 432,377 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 3rd quarter worth $2,275,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 45.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 556,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,386,000 after purchasing an additional 173,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the second quarter worth $1,600,000. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.16, for a total value of $529,051.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,709 shares in the company, valued at $2,333,843.44. The trade was a 18.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARI opened at $10.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 90.32, a current ratio of 96.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $10.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.17. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a twelve month low of $7.70 and a twelve month high of $11.20.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.94% and a net margin of 46.66%.The business had revenue of $73.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.97 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 125.00%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Profile

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.