Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its price target raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $23.00 to $24.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the investment management company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James cut Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $22.74 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $23.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.53. The stock has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its holdings 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 during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.