Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,660,000 shares, a decrease of 8.1% from the May 31st total of 18,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Ares Capital by 323.3% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 93.9% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,922 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 218.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,960 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC stock opened at $20.84 on Monday. Ares Capital has a 1 year low of $18.55 and a 1 year high of $21.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.51.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $701.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 62.77% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

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.