Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on ARCC. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group raised shares of Ares Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.39.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $19.42 on Friday. Ares Capital has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $21.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.03.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The investment management company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $776.34 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 28.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.9%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 157.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Bayshore Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,699,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 531,769 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $10,157,000 after purchasing an additional 11,618 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 669,209 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $12,782,000 after buying an additional 18,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 585,716 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $10,918,000 after buying an additional 14,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies. The company primarily invests in first-lien senior secured loans, second-lien loans, subordinated debt, and, to a lesser extent, equity securities. Its investments are generally designed to support acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings, growth initiatives, and other corporate activities.

Founded in 2004, Ares Capital is externally managed by Ares Capital Management LLC, an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation.