Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading 0.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shares were up 0.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.26 and last traded at $22.25. Approximately 885,830 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 4,487,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCC has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.0 %

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.66%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 78.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 222,101 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,651,000 after purchasing an additional 44,548 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Ares Capital by 331.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 178,224 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,732,000 after buying an additional 136,927 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $1,547,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $651,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 61.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,968 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 10,220 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.