Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Short Interest Update

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,310,000 shares, an increase of 11.0% from the November 15th total of 15,590,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,490,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $21.69 on Friday. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $22.43. The stock has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 1.01. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $21.64 and a 200 day moving average of $21.13.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.85%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 73.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 88.9% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.