Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading Up 1.6%

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) was up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $20.92 and last traded at $20.90. 922,137 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 3,535,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Ares Capital Trading Up 1.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.50. The company has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 62.77% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm had revenue of $701.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.22%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Lewis Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 22,966 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 17,665 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Baron Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Baron Financial Group LLC now owns 18,366 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 108,577 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,175,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.