Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on ARCC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.65.

Ares Capital Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of ARCC opened at $19.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $17.40 and a 12-month high of $23.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.83 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.37.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 37.30% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 117.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Partners Group Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 4.8% in the third quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 1,767,154 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $36,068,000 after acquiring an additional 80,885 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $1,314,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $1,430,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,616,789 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $54,691,000 after acquiring an additional 138,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 662,533 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $13,403,000 after acquiring an additional 64,491 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.