Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading 0.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shot up 0.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $21.02 and last traded at $20.93. 573,411 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 3,452,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ARCC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.71.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. The company had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $714.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.15%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 499,837 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $10,012,000 after acquiring an additional 8,266 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its position in Ares Capital by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 206,949 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,145,000 after purchasing an additional 11,001 shares during the period. Platform Technology Partners acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $402,000. Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $2,337,000. Finally, Security National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.