Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading 0.1% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) traded up 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $22.31 and last traded at $22.32. 606,393 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 3,727,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.61%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Penbrook Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 23.9% during the first quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 13,490 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 305,583 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $6,689,000 after acquiring an additional 38,624 shares during the period. Palogic Value Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 104,565 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after acquiring an additional 4,970 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 111,642 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 2,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $308,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.