Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Eight equities 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.60.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $19.44 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.53 and its 200-day moving average is $18.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.57. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $17.40 and a 12-month high of $21.46.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. Ares Capital had a net margin of 30.91% and a return on equity of 9.80%. The company had revenue of $768.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 142.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $747,000. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ares Capital by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 345,778 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $6,407,000 after buying an additional 50,624 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Ares Capital by 53.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 240,483 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,333,000 after buying an additional 83,841 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,210,941 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $24,497,000 after buying an additional 176,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at about $530,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies. The company invests primarily in privately originated loans and other debt investments, helping businesses fund acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings, growth initiatives and other corporate purposes.

Its investment portfolio generally includes senior secured loans, subordinated debt and mezzanine financing, along with selected equity investments. Ares Capital focuses on companies with established operations across a variety of industries and typically works with private equity sponsors, management teams and other financial partners.

Founded in 2004, Ares Capital is externally managed by Ares Capital Management LLC, an affiliate of global alternative investment manager Ares Management Corporation.