Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Ares Capital has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 11 analysts, with eight buys and three holds. The average 12-month price target is $20.40.
• The company’s latest quarterly earnings of $0.47 per share matched estimates, while revenue of $768 million came in slightly below expectations.
• Ares Capital declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equivalent to $1.92 annually and a yield of approximately 9.8%.

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.40.

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th.

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $19.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $18.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.82. The company has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Ares Capital has a 1 year low of $17.40 and a 1 year high of $22.62.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The company had revenue of $768.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.19 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 30.91%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.8%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 142.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,502 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 1st quarter valued at about $273,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,835,007 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $62,824,000 after buying an additional 358,829 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 139.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,655 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 16,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $14,766,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source