Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading 2.2% Higher - Still a Buy?

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 2.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $20.34 and last traded at $20.35. Approximately 612,849 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 4,048,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ARCC shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.61.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $21.69 and a 200-day moving average of $21.93.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.16%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Ares Capital by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 16,166 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,063 shares during the last quarter. SFG Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $734,000. Western Financial Corp CA lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% during the first quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,961 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 13.9% during the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,212 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 6,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 253,767 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $5,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,544 shares during the period. 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.