Ares Capital Corporation vs Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. — how do they compare? Ares Capital Corporation trades at $19.87 (market cap $14.34B), while Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. trades at $47.64 (market cap $98.11B). The key difference: Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is far larger — about 6.8× Ares Capital Corporation's market cap, and Ares Capital Corporation pays the higher dividend (9.61%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ARCC | CNQ | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $14.34B | $98.11B |
Sector | Financials | Energy |
52-Week High | $22.68 | $50.55 |
52-Week Low | $17.45 | $29.31 |
Dividend Yield | 9.61% | 3.73% |
Enterprise Value | — | $108.54B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
ARCC trades at $19.87, down 0.55% with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages. The company reported $1.51B revenue and $1.30B net income for 2025, maintaining an 86.25% profit margin. Recent earnings show slight misses against expectations, but dividend coverage remains stable at 104% with a 9.9% yield. Analyst consensus is strongly bullish with 24 buy ratings and a $19.63 price target.
The stock presents income appeal with its high dividend yield and stable payout history, though recent earnings compression and rising non-accruals to 2.4% signal credit quality concerns. Private credit sector strain and potential rate cuts pose medium-term risks to net investment income, which is 71% variable-rate exposed.
Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) trades at $47.65, up 0.85% with strong technical momentum. The stock shows robust fundamentals with Q2 2026 EPS beating estimates at $1.53 versus $1.43 expected, continuing a trend of earnings outperformance. Valuation metrics remain attractive with P/E of 11.82 and EV/EBITDA of 6.35, while profitability metrics impress with 26.69% ROE and 22.87% net margin. Recent news highlights record production and dividend consistency.
CNQ presents a compelling investment case with strong operational performance, attractive valuation, and shareholder returns through dividends. The primary risks include oil price volatility and execution challenges in capital projects. Analyst consensus remains strongly bullish with 27 buy ratings and no sell recommendations, supporting upside potential from current levels.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Ares Capital Corp is a United States-based closed-ended specialty finance company. Its investment objective is to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments. The company focuses on investing primarily in U.S. middle-market companies with investment opportunities as well as in larger companies. Its portfolio comprises of first lien senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loans, and mezzanine debt (subordinated unsecured loan), which may include equity components that are diversified by industry and sector. The company may invest in preferred and common equity investments to a lesser proportion. Its revenue mainly consists of interest and dividend income received from the investment made.
Read more on ARCC →Canadian Natural Resources is one of the largest oil and natural gas producers in western Canada, supplemented by operations in the North Sea and Offshore Africa. The company's portfolio includes light and medium oil, heavy oil, bitumen, synthetic oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas. Production averaged 1.16 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020, and the company estimates that it holds over 11.5 billion boe of proven and probable crude oil and natural gas reserves.
Read more on CNQ →