Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.22.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARCC. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 320.7% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 121.1% in the 1st quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of ARCC opened at $20.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44 and a beta of 0.77. Ares Capital has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $599.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.32 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.37%.

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.