Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target Lowered to $23.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $24.00 to $23.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the investment management company's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ARCC. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. B. Riley upped 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. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.6 %

Ares Capital stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.87. 3,199,818 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,634,633. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $22.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.54. Ares Capital has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 78.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 92.6% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.