Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Short Interest Update

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) saw a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,660,000 shares, a decline of 8.1% from the May 31st total of 18,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $20.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.53. The firm has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital has a 52 week low of $18.55 and a 52 week high of $21.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $701.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 62.77% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 5.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 582,578 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $12,129,000 after buying an additional 29,671 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 389,236 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $7,913,000 after acquiring an additional 20,202 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 614.8% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 7,198 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 6,191 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,497,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.