UBS Group Lowers Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target to $19.00

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at UBS Group from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the investment management company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.38% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.38.

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $17.86 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.27. Ares Capital has a 12 month low of $17.59 and a 12 month high of $23.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.59.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Capital

In other news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 41.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $226,615,000 after buying an additional 3,301,890 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 825.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,551,711 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $77,996,000 after buying an additional 3,167,906 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,943,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $33,380,000. Finally, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $26,089,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Ares Capital News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analyst consensus still leans favorable — several write-ups note analysts’ recommendations and an overall “buy/hold” tilt that supports interest in ARCC from income-seeking investors. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Ares Capital (ARCC)
• Positive Sentiment: Ares was featured in an article highlighting high-yield/dividend names attractive to income investors — this can sustain demand from yield-focused funds and retail buyers. Risk-Savvy Investors Love 4 Passive Income Kings Yielding 10% and More
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target (from $22 to $19) while keeping an overweight rating — the lower target trims upside but the positive rating limits downside impact. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports flagged unusually large options activity in ARCC, which can signal short-term positioning or hedging but isn’t definitive on direction. Ares Capital Target of Unusually Large Options Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Market headlines documenting a recent intraday price drop are amplifying attention but mainly reflect short-term trading volatility rather than new company fundamentals. Ares Capital Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported appears inconsistent (zeros/NaN), so there’s no clear signal from short-position metrics at this time. (Data quality issue.)
• Negative Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target from $21 to $19 and moved to a “neutral” rating — a downgrade in analyst sentiment that reduces the stock’s perceived upside and likely weighs on price. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern about “PIK” (paid-in-kind) loans — borrowers paying interest with IOUs instead of cash — raises credit-quality worries for loan-focused vehicles like ARCC, pressuring sentiment for BDCs and leveraged-credit lenders. ‘PIK’ Loans Are the Market’s Latest Concern

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.