Anyone interested in Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (NYSE:ACRE) should probably be aware that the Chief Executive Officer, Bryan Donohoe, recently divested US$195k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$10.32 each. That sale was 19% of their holding, so it does make us raise an eyebrow.

Ares Commercial Real Estate Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Notably, that recent sale by Bryan Donohoe is the biggest insider sale of Ares Commercial Real Estate shares that we've seen in the last year. We generally don't like to see insider selling, but the lower the sale price, the more it concerns us. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$9.27). So it is hard to draw any strong conclusion from it.

In the last year Ares Commercial Real Estate insiders didn't buy any company stock. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Ares Commercial Real Estate Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 3.1% of Ares Commercial Real Estate shares, worth about US$15m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Ares Commercial Real Estate Tell Us?

Insiders sold Ares Commercial Real Estate shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. We'd practice some caution before buying! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Ares Commercial Real Estate. For example, Ares Commercial Real Estate has 5 warning signs (and 2 which are concerning) we think you should know about.

Of course Ares Commercial Real Estate may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. 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.