Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.94.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ARCC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $19.97 on Friday. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $23.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $22.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.77.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.61%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.