Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Ares Capital has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in investor sentiment towards the stock.
• Several research firms have varying opinions on ARCC, with price targets ranging from $22.00 to $23.50, indicating a consensus average target price of $22.63.
• Ares Capital reported earnings of $0.50 per share for the last quarter, falling short of expectations, highlighting potential concerns for future performance.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ARCC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.63.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.1%

Ares Capital stock opened at $19.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Ares Capital has a 1 year low of $18.26 and a 1 year high of $23.84. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $21.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.53.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 44.94% and a return on equity of 10.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 320.7% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. CNB Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at $36,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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