Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Receives $22.86 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Key Points

• Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with nine firms covering the stock, including seven buy ratings and two holds.
• The average 12-month price target is $22.8571, with JMP Securities and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods each setting a target of $23.00.
• Ares Capital recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 8.6%, with the payout representing a ratio of 93.66%.

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.8571.

A number of brokerages recently commented on ARCC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, B. Riley raised Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 320.7% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.55. 690,834 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,545,976. The stock has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.31 and a 200 day moving average of $22.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $614.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $748.76 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 44.94%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.5%. Ares Capital's payout ratio is currently 93.66%.

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.