Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. 4,684,182 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 4,213,276 shares.The stock last traded at $22.67 and had previously closed at $23.81.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.31%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ARCC. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.79.

Ares Capital Trading Down 3.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $14.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.37 and its 200 day moving average is $21.51.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $309,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489,552 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 1.7% in the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $80,338,000 after purchasing an additional 63,999 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2,104.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,613,285 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $756,620,000 after buying an additional 3,449,395 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,387,097 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $70,926,000 after buying an additional 104,710 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,314,269 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $50,659,000 after buying an additional 96,992 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.