JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target to $22.00

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $24.50 to $22.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the investment management company's stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James cut shares of Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.22.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ARCC traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $21.25. 4,628,100 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,211,868. The stock has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 0.77. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $23.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 3.1% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 877,617 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $19,448,000 after purchasing an additional 26,137 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 137.6% in the 1st quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,704 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 21.7% in the first quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,900 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 3,550 shares during the period. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 4.7% during the first quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 77,699 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 3,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 1.0% during the first quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 72,732 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently 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.