Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading Down 3.7% – Here’s What Happened

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shares fell 3.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $21.56 and last traded at $21.58. 2,215,353 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 3,734,372 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.01. The company has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.77.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 92.6% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.