Brokerages Set Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Target Price at $22.25

Shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.25.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $20.18 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $20.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.20. The stock has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. Ares Capital has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.48 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 45.16%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.00%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Capital

In other Ares Capital news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.39 per share, for a total transaction of $265,070.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,920. This represents a 86.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 20.9% in the second quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 126,366 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,775,000 after buying an additional 21,847 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,796,791 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $83,378,000 after buying an additional 21,344 shares during the last quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC now owns 138,139 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,061,000 after buying an additional 12,838 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,453,944 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $53,889,000 after acquiring an additional 75,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $309,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.