Ares Capital’s (ARCC) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $22.00 target price on the investment management company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.50.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $21.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.29. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $18.00 and a twelve month high of $21.53.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $701.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 62.77%. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.99%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 411.0% in the third quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,952 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 93.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,922 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. 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.