Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target Lowered to $21.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank Of Canada from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the investment management company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.11.

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of ARCC opened at $18.67 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. Ares Capital has a 52 week low of $17.40 and a 52 week high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.10 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 117.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Capital

In other Ares Capital news, CFO Scott C. Lem purchased 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 45,840 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $376,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 81.4% in the 1st quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors now owns 25,872 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 11,608 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,183,795 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $21,332,000 after purchasing an additional 47,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,631 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $732,000 after purchasing an additional 1,733 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Key Ares Capital News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board kept the quarterly dividend at $0.48 per share (annualized yield ~10.1%), supporting income investors and signalling payout stability. Dividend press release
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted a $1.8B deal backlog and described the year as off to a strong start, which supports near-term origination prospects and fee/investment income expectations. Backlog & call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and coverage noted strong portfolio activity and higher investment income that helped offset the headline miss, providing a partial catalyst for intraday buying in some sessions. Zacks coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Company reported a noncash accounting gain that pushed reported profit higher and net investment income of ~$398M (reported as $0.55/share on some counts), helping GAAP show a profit despite markdowns. Barron’s summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage on software exposure was reassuring: Ares says software valuations are steady and it reduced some exposure, implying limited sector-specific credit stress. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS of $0.47 and revenue of $763M missed consensus (EPS ~$0.48; revenue ~$779M); GAAP income was pressured by unrealized losses and markdowns, which is why some investors sold into the print. Investing.com
• Negative Sentiment: Several shops trimmed price targets (Truist lowered to $22; RBC to $21), which can weigh on sentiment despite continuing Buy/Outperform ratings. MarketScreener on RBC

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.