Brokerages Set Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) PT at $21.38

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.25.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ARCC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $19.09 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.66. The company has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.58. Ares Capital has a 1 year low of $17.40 and a 1 year high of $23.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.1%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. City Holding Co. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 444.4% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Palladiem LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.