Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading 1.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shares traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.20 and last traded at $20.17. 1,693,459 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 4,001,384 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on ARCC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.81.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.98. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth about $222,000. Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 1st quarter worth about $547,000. RDA Financial Network lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 78,844 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the first quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,172,000. 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.