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

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $24.50 to $22.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the investment management company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 4.22% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.33.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.77. Ares Capital has a 1 year low of $18.26 and a 1 year high of $23.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.93. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 320.7% during the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 121.1% in the 1st quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Finally, Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.