Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Short Interest Update

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,680,000 shares, an increase of 20.2% from the March 31st total of 15,540,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $20.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,666,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,118,036. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50-day moving average is $21.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.92. Ares Capital has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $599.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.32 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.35%. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 93.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital by 320.7% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 121.1% during the first quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.