Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Receives Analysts’ Average “Moderate Buy” Recommendation
Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ: ARCC – Get a rating) received an average “Moderate Buy” rating from the ten brokerages that currently cover the stock, Market assessments reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The 12-month average price target among brokers who updated their coverage on the stock in the past year is $20.81.
The ARCC has been the subject of a number of reports by research analysts. Hovde Group lowered its target price on Ares Capital to $19.00 in a Wednesday, October 5 report. Oppenheimer cut his price target on Ares Capital to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a Wednesday, July 27 research note. JMP Securities lowered its price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperformance” rating for the company in a Thursday, July 28 research note. StockNews.com launched coverage on Ares Capital in a research note on Wednesday, October 12. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James lowered his price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a Wednesday, October 26 research note.
Ares Capital Stock Performance
Shares of Ares Share Capital opened at $19.51 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $18.54 and a 200-day moving average of $19.08. Ares Capital has a 12 month minimum of $16.53 and a 12 month maximum of $23.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.
Ares Capital (NASDAQ: ARCC – Get a rating) last announced its results on Tuesday, October 25. The investment management firm reported EPS of $0.50 for the quarter, beating consensus analyst estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.33% and a net margin of 40.71%. In the same quarter a year earlier, the company posted earnings of $0.47 per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect Ares Capital to post earnings per share of 2.04 for the current year.
Ares capital increases its dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 29. Investors of record on Thursday, December 15 will receive a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a boost from Ares Capital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 14. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.92 and a yield of 9.84%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 101.78%.
Insider buying and selling
In other news, CFO Penelope F. Roll bought 2,500 shares of the company in a trade on Wednesday, September 14. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.04 per share, with a total value of $47,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the CFO now directly owns 54,500 shares of the company, valued at approximately $1,037,680. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, accessible via this link. 0.59% of the shares are held by insiders of the company.
Institutional entries and exits
Several institutional investors have recently increased or reduced their stake in ARCC. Hardy Reed LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital shares by 47.9% in the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 45,669 shares in the investment management company valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 14,787 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings of Ares Capital shares by 5.3% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 23,958 shares of the investment management firm valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital shares by 19.7% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 45,660 shares of the investment management company valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 7,518 shares during the period. Finally, Alphastar Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital shares by 40.3% in the first quarter. Alphastar Capital Management LLC now owns 50,988 shares of the investment management company valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 14,633 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds hold 33.79% of the company’s shares.
Ares Capital Company Profile
Ares Capital Corporation is a business development firm specializing in the acquisition, recapitalization, mezzanine debt, restructurings, rescue financing and leveraged buyout transactions of middle market companies. He also does growth capital and general refinancing. He prefers to invest in companies active in basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, healthcare products and services, and information technology services.
See also
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