Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading Down 3.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) traded down 3.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $19.70 and last traded at $19.73. 1,715,005 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 4,048,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ARCC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.61.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.96. The firm has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $214,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital by 121.1% during the 1st quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc raised its stake in Ares Capital by 22.2% in the first quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 47,670 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 8,673 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 93.9% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 61,833 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,377,000 after acquiring an additional 29,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 4.8% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,453 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,546 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.