Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Price Up 0.8% - Should You Buy?

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $21.26 and last traded at $21.16. Approximately 913,040 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 4,114,209 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James cut shares of Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.00.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, a PE ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $21.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.89.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.66%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 24.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $13,900,000 after buying an additional 127,219 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 269,555 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $5,645,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares during the last quarter. EWG Elevate Inc. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. EWG Elevate Inc. now owns 147,633 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,232,000 after purchasing an additional 5,089 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 27,548 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 14,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 82.6% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 87,981 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 39,806 shares during the last quarter. 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.