Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Receives $22.94 Average PT from Brokerages

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.94.

ARCC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.90.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results 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 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.02%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.