Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Downgraded to "Market Perform" Rating by Raymond James

Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. B. Riley upped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ ARCC traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.74. 3,690,646 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,598,560. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.53. The company has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

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.