Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Trading Up 0.3% – Time to Buy?

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) was up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $21.11 and last traded at $21.08. Approximately 838,021 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 3,422,422 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.01.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ARCC shares. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. Compass Point raised shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.71.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $13.44 billion, a PE ratio of 7.48 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a net margin of 59.76% and a return on equity of 12.24%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $714.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.01%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 67.37%.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 62.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 1.6% during the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,691 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 33,047 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chapin Davis Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 22,966 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.