Ares Commercial Real Estate (NYSE:ACRE) Share Prices Have Dropped 38% In The Last Year

Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 12% in the last quarter. But that doesn't change the reality of under-performance over the last twelve months. After all, the share price is down 38% in the last year, significantly under-performing the market.

Check out our latest analysis for Ares Commercial Real Estate

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Unhappily, Ares Commercial Real Estate had to report a 73% decline in EPS over the last year. The share price fall of 38% isn't as bad as the reduction in earnings per share. It may have been that the weak EPS was not as bad as some had feared.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here..

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Ares Commercial Real Estate, it has a TSR of -29% for the last year. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Investors in Ares Commercial Real Estate had a tough year, with a total loss of 29% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 19%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 4% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Ares Commercial Real Estate better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with Ares Commercial Real Estate (including 2 which is make us uncomfortable) .

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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