Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Given Buy (B) Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Ares Capital's stock received a reaffirmed "buy" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating strong analyst confidence in the investment management company.
• Multiple analysts have increased their target price for Ares Capital, with B. Riley raising it from $22.50 to $23.50 and other firms adjusting their ratings.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings show $0.50 EPS, missing estimates, with revenue of $614 million compared to a consensus of $748.76 million.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. B. Riley raised Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $22.50 to $23.50 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.86.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC traded down $0.19 on Wednesday, hitting $19.67. 6,722,190 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,564,124. Ares Capital has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $23.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.69.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 44.94%.The firm had revenue of $614.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $748.76 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 126,366 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,775,000 after buying an additional 21,847 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.6% in the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,796,791 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $83,378,000 after purchasing an additional 21,344 shares during the last quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 10.2% in the first quarter. Rollins Financial Advisors LLC now owns 138,139 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,061,000 after purchasing an additional 12,838 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,453,944 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $53,889,000 after purchasing an additional 75,109 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 0.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 241,119 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $5,343,000 after buying an additional 1,776 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ares Capital

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.

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