Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Short Interest Up 11.0% in November

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,310,000 shares, an increase of 11.0% from the November 15th total of 15,590,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. B. Riley upped their price target 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 upgraded Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.29.

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.2 %

ARCC stock opened at $21.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.13. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $22.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.84 billion, a PE ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Ares Capital’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.96%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,656,154 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $272,107,000 after acquiring an additional 975,045 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.7% in the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $80,338,000 after purchasing an additional 63,999 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 2,104.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,613,285 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $756,620,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,395 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 8.5% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,492,247 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $72,778,000 after purchasing an additional 273,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,217,277 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $46,430,000 after acquiring an additional 79,074 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

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.