Ares Commercial assumed with a Neutral at BTIG

BTIG assumed coverage of Ares Commercial with a Neutral rating. Commercial Mortgage REITs, or CmREITs, are down 32% since the end of the “easy-money-era” in early 2022, though the second wave of lower rate hopes has pushed the sector up 6.9% since the better-than-expected CPI print on July 11, the analyst tells investors in assuming coverage of the group. Yield matters more now than it has in the past 25 years and the mass retreat of traditional lenders from the commercial real estate space promises to expand the addressable market for cmREITs and alternative lenders, which leads to “an intriguing crossroads for the commercial real estate sector,” the analyst tells investors in the assumption note.