StockNews.com Upgrades Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) to Hold

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on ARCC. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Compass Point raised shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.86.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $21.54 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.99. Ares Capital has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $22.05.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Ares Capital by 62.7% in the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 88.9% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% 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.