Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,440,000 shares, a growth of 5.2% from the October 15th total of 16,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,140,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $21.68. 3,319,661 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,388,160. Ares Capital has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $22.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $21.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.86%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 73.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 62.7% in the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 88.9% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ARCC. Compass Point upgraded Ares Capital to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.86.

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.