Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $20.91 and last traded at $20.90. 1,257,718 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 3,445,722 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ARCC. JMP Securities increased their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Compass Point upgraded Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group upgraded Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Four 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, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.71.

Ares Capital Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $714.27 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.19%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 323.3% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.