Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.75.

A number of research analysts recently commented on ARCC shares. Citizens Jmp lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Ares Capital during the first quarter valued at about $189,210,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $226,615,000 after buying an additional 3,301,890 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at about $36,943,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,380,000. Finally, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation bought a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,089,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $18.77 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.38. Ares Capital has a 52 week low of $17.40 and a 52 week high of $23.42. The company has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

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). Ares Capital had a net margin of 37.30% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 117.79%.

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.