Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Receives $22.29 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.29.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 24.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $13,900,000 after acquiring an additional 127,219 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 885,406 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $18,540,000 after purchasing an additional 38,559 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 1.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 25.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 222,101 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,651,000 after buying an additional 44,548 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 32.5% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 211,797 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,435,000 after buying an additional 52,007 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $21.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.17 billion, a PE ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $22.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.13. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.85%.

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.