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

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.60.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Friday, June 12th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $18.73 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.56. Ares Capital has a 1-year low of $17.40 and a 1-year high of $23.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.69 and a 200 day moving average of $19.11.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 37.30%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 15.3% in the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,957 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 10,198 shares during the last quarter. LFG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 34.8% during the 1st quarter. LFG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 164,037 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after purchasing an additional 42,384 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,364,000. Orographic Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,816,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,135,454 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $164,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,230 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.