Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target Cut to $19.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its price target decreased by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the investment management company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.42% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.63.

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,661,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,514,335. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.59. Ares Capital has a 12 month low of $17.59 and a 12 month high of $23.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.31.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Capital

In other Ares Capital news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 6.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,502 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $273,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,835,007 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $62,824,000 after purchasing an additional 358,829 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 139.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,655 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 16,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the 1st quarter valued at about $14,766,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.