FY2024 EPS Estimates for Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Lifted by Analyst

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) – Stock analysts at B. Riley lifted their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Ares Capital in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, May 2nd. B. Riley analyst B. Rowe now anticipates that the investment management company will post earnings of $2.30 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $2.29. B. Riley has a “Neutral” rating and a $21.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ares Capital’s current full-year earnings is $2.35 per share.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $701.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.68% and a net margin of 62.77%. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.43.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $20.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.99. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $17.53 and a 12-month high of $21.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lewis Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 22,966 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 17,665 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Baron Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Baron Financial Group LLC now owns 18,366 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Syntal Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Syntal Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,346 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.32%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.75%.

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.