Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.29.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $21.89 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.14 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $22.43. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.15.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JBR Co Financial Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% in the third quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 33,047 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 43,609 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,428 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 25,823 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 6.2% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,842 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.