Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%.

Ares Capital Trading Down 5.3 %

NASDAQ ARCC traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,153,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,213,276. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Ares Capital has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.51%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. B. Riley lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.79.

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.