Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Down 2.1% – Here’s What Happened

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shares dropped 2.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $19.49 and last traded at $19.43. Approximately 1,921,001 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 3,980,726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on ARCC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.81.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $13.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.98.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.68%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Ares Capital by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,291 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $576,000. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 10.9% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 73,741 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after buying an additional 7,236 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.2% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 60,464 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after buying an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 714,971 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $14,971,000 after buying an additional 50,538 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

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.