Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $22.00 to $23.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the investment management company's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on ARCC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ ARCC traded down $0.18 on Friday, hitting $22.70. 3,092,604 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,595,811. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84. The company has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.55.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.46%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,426,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 2,104.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,613,285 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $756,620,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,395 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,159,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $309,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CCLA Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,211,955 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $48,419,000 after acquiring an additional 531,305 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.