Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $24.50. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ares Capital traded as high as $23.77 and last traded at $23.76, with a volume of 3786340 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.67.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.79.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Lane & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $210,000. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $404,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 337,581 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $7,390,000 after purchasing an additional 24,652 shares in the last quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 52,283 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 5,519 shares during the period. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 6,465 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.28 and a 200-day moving average of $21.45. The stock has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.