Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $22.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.44%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 33,047 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Ares Capital by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 43,609 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $578,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently 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.