JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Price Target to $19.00

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) had its target price cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the investment management company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.38% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of 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 report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.38.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $17.86 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.27. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $17.59 and a twelve month high of $23.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a P/E 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 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The company had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Capital

In other news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 17,558,581 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $355,210,000 after acquiring an additional 341,578 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $226,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301,890 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 8.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $190,572,000 after purchasing an additional 705,882 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,404,876 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $140,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Ares Capital by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,408,067 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $109,432,000 after purchasing an additional 761,838 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital News Roundup

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.