Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $23.53 and last traded at $23.46, with a volume of 365268 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.29.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $15.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.39. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $755.00 million during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $67,000. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ares Capital by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

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.