In the latest trading session, Ares Capital (ARCC) closed at $23.38, marking no change from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.53%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.93%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 0.22%.

The private equity firm's shares have seen an increase of 7.49% over the last month, surpassing the Finance sector's gain of 3.86% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.69%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Ares Capital in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on February 5, 2025. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.57, reflecting a 9.52% decrease from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $784.96 million, showing a 11.03% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections for Ares Capital. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Ares Capital is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

In terms of valuation, Ares Capital is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.56. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.14.

The Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry is part of the Finance sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 63, putting it in the top 26% of all 250+ industries.

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.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research