Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Price

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $22.00 to $21.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the investment management company’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 10.01% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on ARCC. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.25.

Ares Capital Stock Up 1.7%

Ares Capital stock opened at $19.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. Ares Capital has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $23.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.66. The firm has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.58.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The firm had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ares Capital

In other Ares Capital news, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. City Holding Co. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 444.4% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. SWAN Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.