Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on ARCC. B. Riley increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.86.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $21.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.09 and its 200-day moving average is $21.00. Ares Capital has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $22.05.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.93%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 62.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 88.9% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.