Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Receives $21.71 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.71.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Compass Point raised shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 62.7% during the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 323.3% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $20.61 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.78. Ares Capital has a 1-year low of $18.55 and a 1-year high of $21.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $714.27 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.32%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.75%.

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.