Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Up 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shares shot up 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.26 and last traded at $22.25. 885,830 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 4,487,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Down 2.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.74%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 78.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 222,101 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,651,000 after purchasing an additional 44,548 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 331.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 178,224 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,732,000 after purchasing an additional 136,927 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,547,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $651,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 61.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,968 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 10,220 shares during 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.