Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Price

Posted by Nicole Kennedy on Feb 5th, 2026

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC – Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $21.00 to $20.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the investment management company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 5.46% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Ares Capital from $22.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.13.

View Our Latest Stock Report on ARCC

Ares Capital Stock Down 3.0%

Ares Capital stock traded down $0.60 on Thursday, hitting $18.97. 5,260,074 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,714,577. Ares Capital has a 1 year low of $18.26 and a 1 year high of $23.63. The firm has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.93.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC – Get Free Report) last issued 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 45.16% and a return on equity of 10.08%. The company had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.20 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Ares Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS Group AG lifted its position 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 valued at $226,615,000 after buying an additional 3,301,890 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 825.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,551,711 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $77,996,000 after acquiring an additional 3,167,906 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,943,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 18.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,404,876 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $140,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,460 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 56.9% in the second quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 2,342,324 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $51,437,000 after purchasing an additional 849,097 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Ares Capital News

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

Positive Sentiment: Q4 core earnings broadly met/beat analyst views and total investment income rose, which some outlets said sparked an initial share-price rally. ARCC’s Q4 Earnings Meet, Stock Up on Higher Total Investment Income
Positive Sentiment: Management flagged record originations of $15.8B in 2025 and said it’s maintaining dividend stability — a signal of continued deal flow and capital deployment. Ares Capital signals record $15.8B originations in 2025 while maintaining dividend stability
Positive Sentiment: Company declared a $0.48 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~9.8%), with an ex-dividend date in mid‑March — supports income-focused investor demand.
Positive Sentiment: Portfolio/sector resilience: Ares’ software loan book was described as healthy despite AI-related market concerns, limiting credit-risk headlines. Ares BDC says software loan book remains healthy amid AI fears
Neutral Sentiment: Mixed beats/in-line reads — some transcripts and outlets show EPS ~ $0.517 vs. $0.50 consensus, while others report EPS of $0.50 in line; revenue came in roughly $793M (small miss vs. ~$795M consensus). This nuance can temper strong directional moves. Ares Capital Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Negative Sentiment: Higher operating/other expenses partially offset the rise in investment income, reducing net benefit to earnings — a headwind for margin expansion expectations. ARCC’s Q4 Earnings Meet, Stock Up on Higher Total Investment Income
Negative Sentiment: Trend risk: core EPS declined year-over-year (prior-year quarter was higher), and some previews flagged pressure on net investment income (NII) and potential dividend sustainability concerns if margins or yields compress. Ares Capital Q4 earnings preview: NII, dividend under pressure

About Ares Capital

(Get Free Report)

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.