Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ARCC. JMP Securities raised their price objective 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. B. Riley lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Compass Point raised Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.86.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.40 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.83 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $22.05.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.97%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 73.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 62.7% during the second 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 position in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 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.