JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has decreased its target price for Ares Capital's stock from $23.00 to $22.00, although it maintains an "overweight" rating signifying potential growth.
• Ares Capital's stock price decreased by 1.2% recently, trading at $20.16, below its 50-day moving average of $22.08.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Ares Capital, with notable increases from GAMMA Investing LLC and others during the first quarter.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the investment management company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.15% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $23.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.86.

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.2%

ARCC traded down $0.26 on Wednesday, reaching $20.16. 2,075,420 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,479,476. Ares Capital has a 52-week low of $18.26 and a 52-week high of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $22.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.74.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $748.76 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 44.94%.During the same period last year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 2,116.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,274 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,940,000 after buying an additional 12,675 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 6.5% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 205,329 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $4,550,000 after acquiring an additional 12,488 shares during the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management increased its position in Ares Capital by 7.9% during the first quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 50,346 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 3,668 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 95,349 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 7,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

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.

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