Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading 0.4% Higher

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)’s stock price traded up 0.4% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $20.70 and last traded at $20.67. 882,979 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 3,543,545 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.5 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.49. The stock has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $701.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 62.77%. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.28%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.1% during the first quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Chapin Davis Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 22,966 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 17,665 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. Baron Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Baron Financial Group LLC now owns 18,366 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108,577 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,175,000 after buying an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ares Capital

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.