Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $22.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.01. 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 has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $23.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.39 and its 200 day moving average is $21.51.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.64.

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.