Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.29.

ARCC has been the topic of several analyst reports. B. Riley lifted their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $23.18 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.94 and its 200 day moving average is $21.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $23.22.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,825 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,331,000 after buying an additional 16,007 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,405 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 4,749 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 0.8% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,365,540 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $28,458,000 after acquiring an additional 11,443 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 26.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,020 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beck Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 15,292 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 3,213 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ares Capital

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.