Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading Down 0.7% – Here’s Why

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) fell 0.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $22.19 and last traded at $22.20. 1,036,063 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 3,696,744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.98. The firm has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced 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 return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

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

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.