Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Price Up 0.1% - Here's Why

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $22.31 and last traded at $22.32. 606,393 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 3,727,700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Down 7.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $22.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.01.

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 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 research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 78.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.