B. Riley Issues Positive Forecast for Ares Capital Earnings

Key Points

• B. Riley has raised its Q3 2025 EPS estimates for Ares Capital to $0.52 from $0.51, maintaining a "Buy" rating with a target price of $23.50.
• The company reported Q2 2025 earnings of $0.50 EPS, which was below analyst expectations, with revenue of $614 million versus consensus estimates of $748.76 million.
• Ares Capital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48, which translates to an annualized yield of 8.48%, with a payout ratio of 93.66%.

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at B. Riley raised their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Ares Capital in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, July 30th. B. Riley analyst S. Adams now forecasts that the investment management company will earn $0.52 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.51. B. Riley currently has a "Buy" rating and a $23.50 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ares Capital's current full-year earnings is $2.19 per share. B. Riley also issued estimates for Ares Capital's Q4 2025 earnings at $0.51 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.00 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $0.51 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.51 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $0.50 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.50 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.01 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities set a $23.00 target price on Ares Capital and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.86.

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC traded down $0.24 during trading on Thursday, reaching $22.39. 3,219,495 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,174,595. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.70. 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 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The business's fifty day moving average is $22.25 and its 200-day moving average is $22.05.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $748.76 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 44.94% and a return on equity of 10.48%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.61 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the second quarter worth $220,000. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the second quarter worth $253,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.1% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 70,015 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares in the last quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 70.0% in the second quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 42,084 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 17,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.4% in the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 56,355 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 2,903 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.6%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 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.