Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Rating Increased to Overweight at Wells Fargo & Company

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $23.00 price objective on the investment management company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.84% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ARCC. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. B. Riley upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.29.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $22.15 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.07. Ares Capital has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $22.21. The firm has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 62.7% in the second 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 period. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 88.9% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Capital

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.