Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target Lowered to $19.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the investment management company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.38.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $17.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.69 and a 200 day moving average of $20.28. The company has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.59. Ares Capital has a 12 month low of $17.59 and a 12 month high of $23.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The business had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.8%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.23%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Capital

In other Ares Capital news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 33.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 275,891 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,557,000 after acquiring an additional 69,844 shares during the period. Partners Group Holding AG grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 4.8% in the third quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 1,767,154 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $36,068,000 after purchasing an additional 80,885 shares in the last quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,430,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 265.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 74,725 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 54,267 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 438,807 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $8,956,000 after purchasing an additional 93,800 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Ares Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analyst consensus still leans favorable — several write-ups note analysts’ recommendations and an overall “buy/hold” tilt that supports interest in ARCC from income-seeking investors. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Ares Capital (ARCC)
• Positive Sentiment: Ares was featured in an article highlighting high-yield/dividend names attractive to income investors — this can sustain demand from yield-focused funds and retail buyers. Risk-Savvy Investors Love 4 Passive Income Kings Yielding 10% and More
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target (from $22 to $19) while keeping an overweight rating — the lower target trims upside but the positive rating limits downside impact. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports flagged unusually large options activity in ARCC, which can signal short-term positioning or hedging but isn’t definitive on direction. Ares Capital Target of Unusually Large Options Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Market headlines documenting a recent intraday price drop are amplifying attention but mainly reflect short-term trading volatility rather than new company fundamentals. Ares Capital Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported appears inconsistent (zeros/NaN), so there’s no clear signal from short-position metrics at this time. (Data quality issue.)
• Negative Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target from $21 to $19 and moved to a “neutral” rating — a downgrade in analyst sentiment that reduces the stock’s perceived upside and likely weighs on price. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern about “PIK” (paid-in-kind) loans — borrowers paying interest with IOUs instead of cash — raises credit-quality worries for loan-focused vehicles like ARCC, pressuring sentiment for BDCs and leveraged-credit lenders. ‘PIK’ Loans Are the Market’s Latest Concern

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.