Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) shares traded down 0.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $22.19 and last traded at $22.20. 1,036,063 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 3,696,744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ARCC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James cut Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.4 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $519,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,512,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 507,374 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $11,208,000 after buying an additional 25,347 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 24.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $13,900,000 after buying an additional 127,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 43,056 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 1,945 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.