Brokerages Set Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target at $20.75

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.75.

Several brokerages recently commented on ARCC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $189,210,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in Ares Capital by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $226,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,301,890 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,943,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,380,000. Finally, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,089,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.2%

ARCC opened at $18.90 on Friday. Ares Capital has a 1-year low of $17.40 and a 1-year high of $23.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.58.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 37.30% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 117.79%.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.