Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target Raised to $24.50

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $23.00 to $24.50 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the investment management company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ARCC. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target 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. Three equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.79.

Ares Capital Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $23.10 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.51. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.31%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 73.85%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $309,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489,552 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $80,338,000 after buying an additional 63,999 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 2,104.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,613,285 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $756,620,000 after buying an additional 3,449,395 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,387,097 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $70,926,000 after acquiring an additional 104,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,314,269 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $50,659,000 after acquiring an additional 96,992 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.