Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Receives $22.94 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.94.

A number of brokerages have commented on ARCC. StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 305,583 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $6,689,000 after buying an additional 38,624 shares during the period. Palogic Value Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 104,565 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after buying an additional 4,970 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 111,642 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,444,000 after buying an additional 2,487 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $308,000. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 102,316 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC opened at $21.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.91. Ares Capital has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.37%.

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.