Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Overweight Rating

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $23.00 price objective on the investment management company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 3.84% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group raised shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.29.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $22.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $22.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.07.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The business had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 62.7% during the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 88.9% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is 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.