Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading 0.5% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) traded up 0.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $22.33 and last traded at $22.35. 356,851 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 3,699,176 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.80 and a 200-day moving average of $21.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $15.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.