The stock went ex-distribution on a $4.10-a-share liquidating payment that landed in shareholders' accounts on Thursday. What is left trades at about $2.37 until the shares leave the NYSE, expected Nov. 6.
One of the steepest drops on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday was a payout, not a collapse.
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares were down about 63% at $2.37 in early afternoon. The company is in a liquidation that its stockholders approved on Sept. 29, and it paid an initial cash liquidating distribution of $4.10 a share on Thursday to holders of record on Oct. 20.
Why the drop came a day late
Normally a stock goes ex-dividend before the payment date. For large distributions, the NYSE can instead set the ex-date on the first business day after payment. That is what happened here: Friday was the ex-date, and until Thursday the shares traded with "due bills" attached, so anyone who bought before the ex-date was entitled to the $4.10.
The arithmetic matches. The stock closed Thursday at about $6.45. Subtracting the $4.10 distribution leaves about $2.35, close to where the shares traded on Friday.
What remains
The roughly $2.37 share price is now the market's estimate of what is left for holders after the first distribution, net of the time and cost of winding down. Further distributions will determine what holders ultimately receive.
The company expects Friday, Nov. 6, to be the last day its shares trade on the NYSE, followed by deregistration around Nov. 9.
What to watch
The final NYSE trading day on Nov. 6 and the size and timing of any further liquidating distributions.