JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Price

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $23.00 to $24.50 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the investment management company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ARCC. 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.79.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.10 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.51.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) 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 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.31%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Round Rock Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,512,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $519,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 507,374 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after purchasing an additional 25,347 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 24.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $13,900,000 after purchasing an additional 127,219 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Ares Capital by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 885,406 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $18,540,000 after buying an additional 38,559 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

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.