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

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC – Get Rating) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.71.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ARCC shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Ares Capital in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 82,913 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 15,957 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 59.1% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 30,205 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 11,226 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 513,554 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $10,759,000 after buying an additional 106,704 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $897,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Ares Capital by 70.2% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 4,595 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.24% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $17.79 on Friday. Ares Capital has a 52-week low of $16.53 and a 52-week high of $22.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.93.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.79%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 160.00%.

About Ares Capital

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Ares Commercial Finance provides asset-based cash flow solutions to small and middle-market companies. ACF works with borrowers to deliver creative, flexible, and comprehensive financing solutions. Ares Commercial Finance has the ability to structure and agent deals to support the growth and changing capital needs of clients.