Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Up 0.3% – Should You Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC – Get Free Report) shares rose 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $20.26 and last traded at $20.24. Approximately 569,412 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 4,014,511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of 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. raised their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.61.

Get Our Latest Analysis on ARCC

Ares Capital Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.41%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,521 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA raised its stake in Ares Capital by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ares Capital

(Get Free Report)

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.

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