Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Short Interest Up 5.2% in October

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,440,000 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the October 15th total of 16,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 62.7% during the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 88.9% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC opened at $21.83 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.02. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $22.05.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The business had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.80%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 73.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ARCC. StockNews.com raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Compass Point upgraded Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.86.

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.