Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Up 0.3%

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $20.79 and last traded at $20.76. 508,201 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 3,448,929 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Compass Point raised shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.71.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a PE ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.78.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $714.27 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.24%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 62.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 323.3% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in acquisition, recapitalization, mezzanine debt, restructurings, rescue financing, and leveraged buyout transactions of middle market companies. It also makes growth capital and general refinancing. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, health care products and services, and information technology service sectors.