Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.60.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $18.73 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.10. The stock has a market cap of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Ares Capital has a 1-year low of $17.40 and a 1-year high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $763.00 million during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 117.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $189,210,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $226,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301,890 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth $36,943,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $33,380,000. Finally, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $26,089,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ares Capital

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.