Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Short Interest Down 10.6% in November

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,590,000 shares, a drop of 10.6% from the October 31st total of 17,440,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 62.7% during the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 88.9% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $22.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,812,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,408,283. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.07. The stock has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $22.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.67%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley lifted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.29.

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.