Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) shares reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $18.17 and last traded at $18.58, with a volume of 2885572 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCC has been the subject of several research reports. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Ares Capital Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.95 and a 200-day moving average of $20.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The business had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Capital news, CFO Scott C. Lem purchased 5,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 17,558,581 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $355,210,000 after acquiring an additional 341,578 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $226,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301,890 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 8.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $190,572,000 after purchasing an additional 705,882 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 18.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,404,876 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $140,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,460 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Ares Capital by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,408,067 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $109,432,000 after buying an additional 761,838 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Capital

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.