Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Gap Down to $19.75

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $19.75, but opened at $19.32. Ares Capital shares last traded at $19.33, with a volume of 504,786 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $20.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. TheStreet raised Ares Capital from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 25th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. B. Riley raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $20.50 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

Ares Capital Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.42 and a 200-day moving average of $18.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.01. Ares Capital had a net margin of 36.52% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The firm had revenue of $634.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $623.26 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.36%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 115,160 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.4% in the second quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 16,181 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 1.7% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,009 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 4.5% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 12,891 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA grew its position in Ares Capital by 2.5% during the second quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 22,974 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.32% 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.