Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $18.60 and last traded at $18.73, with a volume of 4189302 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $84,426,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth about $58,159,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Ares Capital by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $309,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489,552 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Ares Capital by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,678,525 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $58,633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198,580 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,268,547 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $93,439,000 after purchasing an additional 881,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.