Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target to $22.00

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the investment management company's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target suggests a potential upside of 10.50% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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 lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.81.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC traded up $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.91. The company had a trading volume of 7,415,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,005,231. Ares Capital has a 12 month low of $18.26 and a 12 month high of $23.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.97.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $309,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489,552 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Ares Capital by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,951,926 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $174,068,000 after buying an additional 871,370 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,268,547 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $93,439,000 after buying an additional 881,450 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,426,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,523,651 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $77,133,000 after acquiring an additional 105,526 shares during the period. 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.