Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on ARCC. Compass Point upgraded Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.86.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.2 %

ARCC opened at $21.58 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $21.07 and a 200-day moving average of $20.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.01. 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 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $22.05.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.90%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 73.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Ares Capital by 62.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 88.9% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.