JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target to $22.00

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $21.50 to $22.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the investment management company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley lowered shares of Ares Capital from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $21.43.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $20.61 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.42 and its 200-day moving average is $20.06. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $17.53 and a 12-month high of $21.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.99.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 62.77% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $701.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.85 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.32%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 151,558 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,155,000 after purchasing an additional 5,508 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 119,243 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,481,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 159,249 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,316,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 224.1% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 2,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,404,694 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,246,000 after purchasing an additional 19,942 shares in 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.