Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Issues Earnings Results

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC traded down $1.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,684,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,213,276. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ares Capital has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $23.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.49.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 yield of 8.46%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 73.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. B. Riley increased their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.79.

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.