Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading 0.2% Higher

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) were up 0.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $20.67 and last traded at $20.66. Approximately 633,065 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 3,450,775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.71.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.5 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.73 and its 200-day moving average is $20.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. The company had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $714.27 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.27%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 65.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,428 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,377,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 864,353 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $18,013,000 after purchasing an additional 43,963 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Ares Capital by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 137,274 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,861,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Finally, Granite FO LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,959,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently 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.