JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target to $22.00

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $21.50 to $22.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the investment management company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. B. Riley downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.43.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $20.61 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.07. The company has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.99. Ares Capital has a fifty-two week low of $17.53 and a fifty-two week high of $21.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.63.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $701.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 62.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.32%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 323.3% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 93.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,922 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 411.0% in the third quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,952 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.