Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading Down 5.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) dropped 5.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $19.88 and last traded at $20.24. Approximately 6,130,075 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 62% from the average daily volume of 3,774,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARCC. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Down 7.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased 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 worth $4,651,000 after acquiring an additional 44,548 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,547,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 61.0% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,968 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 10,220 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 14.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 942,179 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $19,736,000 after buying an additional 121,205 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 34,599 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 4,074 shares in 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.