In the latest trading session, Ares Capital (ARCC) closed at $20.13, marking a -1.37% move from the previous day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.34% for the day. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.09%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.42%.
The private equity firm's shares have seen a decrease of 8.56% over the last month, not keeping up with the Finance sector's gain of 1.52% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.54%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Ares Capital in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $0.5, signifying a 13.79% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $764.06 million, reflecting a 1.41% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $2.01 per share and revenue of $3.02 billion, indicating changes of -13.73% and +0.85%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Ares Capital. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Currently, Ares Capital is carrying a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
From a valuation perspective, Ares Capital is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.16. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 7.93.
The Financial – SBIC & Commercial Industry industry is part of the Finance sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 168, this industry ranks in the bottom 32% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
