Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target to $22.00

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its price objective decreased by Royal Bank Of Canada from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the investment management company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ARCC. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $19.91 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.80. Ares Capital has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.59.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The business had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.6%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. City Holding Co. grew its position in Ares Capital by 444.4% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Senior insiders bought stock: CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares and CFO Scott Lem bought 5,186 shares in early February — a bullish signal of management confidence in the shares. Insider Trading Alert
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial reiterated a Buy rating on ARCC, which supports investor demand and provides a near-term analyst-backed floor under the stock. Truist Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Sector commentary: a Seeking Alpha piece flags that many BDCs face dividend pressure if rates fall, but names ARCC as relatively resilient due to scale and premium positioning — a qualitative positive for longer-term dividend stability. Seeking Alpha: BDC Dividend Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro note: a strong jobs report reduced near-term odds of multiple Fed cuts, and a roundup suggested locking in high-yield dividend names — macro-driven rate path could help BDC yields if rates stay higher longer. Jobs Report / High-Yield Roundup
• Neutral Sentiment: Data oddity on short interest: two recent short-interest reports show 0 shares and NaN changes — likely a reporting error; no actionable signal from short-interest days-to-cover given the anomalous figures.
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative coverage: some outlets highlight alternative high-yield names (e.g., Realty Income) as better buys today, underscoring competition for income-seeking capital but not directly implying deterioration at ARCC. Fool: Comparative Idea
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada issued a pessimistic forecast for ARCC’s stock price, introducing downside pressure from an influential analyst. RBC Pessimistic Forecast

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.