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

Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $22.43 and last traded at $22.43, with a volume of 2932243 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ares Capital Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.26. The firm has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.35%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 73.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JBR Co Financial Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% in the third quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 33,047 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 43,609 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,428 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,086 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the period. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 25,823 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.