Brokerages Set Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Target Price at $22.29

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.29.

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

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.43 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.12 and its 200 day moving average is $21.37. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $23.53. The stock has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.00. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. 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 earned $0.59 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 159,825 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,331,000 after buying an additional 16,007 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 10.6% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,405 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after purchasing an additional 4,749 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,365,540 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $28,458,000 after purchasing an additional 11,443 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,020 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beck Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 15,292 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 3,213 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.