Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.94.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Ares Capital Stock Down 7.2 %

ARCC stock opened at $19.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.77. Ares Capital has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 9.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 78.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.