Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Down 0.4% Following Weak Earnings

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) fell 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $20.22 and last traded at $20.59. 1,347,597 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 4,099,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.67.

The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.04). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. The business had revenue of $599.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on ARCC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.22.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 121.1% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $21.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.93.

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.