Brokerages Set Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target at $22.94

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.94.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 68,590 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,520,000 after buying an additional 8,755 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 2,116.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,274 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 12,675 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in Ares Capital by 5,134.9% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 127,260 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,820,000 after acquiring an additional 124,829 shares in the last quarter. Penbrook Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 23.9% in the first quarter. Penbrook Management LLC now owns 13,490 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 305,583 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $6,689,000 after purchasing an additional 38,624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $19.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Ares Capital has a 12 month low of $18.60 and a 12 month high of $23.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.02.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.94%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.37%.

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.