Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $23.53 and last traded at $23.46, with a volume of 365268 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.30.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.43.

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.41.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,489,552 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.7% in the third quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $80,338,000 after acquiring an additional 63,999 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2,104.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,613,285 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $756,620,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,395 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,387,097 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $70,926,000 after purchasing an additional 104,710 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,314,269 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $50,659,000 after purchasing an additional 96,992 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.