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

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Friday, September 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.60.

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $19.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $19.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.89. The company has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.57. Ares Capital has a fifty-two week low of $17.40 and a fifty-two week high of $21.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 30.91%.The company had revenue of $768.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.9%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 142.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter worth about $747,000. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. now owns 345,778 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after purchasing an additional 50,624 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Ares Capital by 53.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 240,483 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,333,000 after purchasing an additional 83,841 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust grew its stake in Ares Capital by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,210,941 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $24,497,000 after purchasing an additional 176,040 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter worth approximately $15,746,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a business development company that provides financing to middle-market companies. The company invests primarily in privately originated loans and other debt investments, helping businesses fund acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings, growth initiatives and other corporate purposes.

Its investment portfolio generally includes senior secured loans, subordinated debt and mezzanine financing, along with selected equity investments. Ares Capital focuses on companies with established operations across a variety of industries and typically works with private equity sponsors, management teams and other financial partners.

Founded in 2004, Ares Capital is externally managed by Ares Capital Management LLC, an affiliate of global alternative investment manager Ares Management Corporation.