Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $20.60 According to Brokerages

Shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.39.

A number of brokerages recently commented on ARCC. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th.

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $18.56 on Wednesday. Ares Capital has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $21.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $768.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.19 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 30.91% and a return on equity of 9.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.3%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 142.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 22.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 13,306,095 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $246,562,000 after buying an additional 2,418,984 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the first quarter worth about $189,210,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Ares Capital by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,135,454 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $164,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,230 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter worth about $120,538,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,870,130 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $71,714,000 after acquiring an additional 335,197 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a specialty finance company that operates as a business development company (BDC). It provides financing to middle-market companies, primarily through directly originated loans and other investments. Ares Capital seeks to support businesses that may require capital for acquisitions, growth initiatives, recapitalizations, refinancings and other corporate purposes.

The company invests across a range of industries and typically provides first-lien senior secured loans, second-lien loans, subordinated debt and, to a lesser extent, equity investments.