Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

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

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

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.53 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $21.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.99. The firm has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $22.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.92%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.