Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Price Up 0.3%

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)’s stock price shot up 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $20.79 and last traded at $20.76. 508,201 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 3,448,929 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Compass Point raised shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.71.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.72 and its 200 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. The business had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $714.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

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.