Price movement over the last 24 hours
Ares Capital Corporation vs Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF — how do they compare? Ares Capital Corporation trades at $18.75 (market cap $13.48B), while Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF trades at $161.69. The key difference: Ares Capital Corporation pays a 10.22% dividend while Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF pays none, and Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF is trading nearer its 52-week high, Ares Capital Corporation nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ARCC | VYM | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $13.48B | — |
Sector | Financials | — |
52-Week High | $23.25 | $161.17 |
52-Week Low | $17.45 | $132.90 |
Dividend Yield | 10.22% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Ares Capital (ARCC) trades at $18.78, up 2.01% on the day, with a bearish technical signal but strong analyst support. The stock shows a P/E of 11.52 and P/B of 0.96, trading below the consensus price target of $20.58. Recent earnings have missed expectations, with Q2 2026 results pending, while revenue declined to $1.51B in 2025 from $1.7B in 2024. A dividend of $0.48 is scheduled for payment on June 30, 2026, supporting income appeal amid mixed sentiment.
ARCC presents a value opportunity with a high dividend yield and undervaluation relative to analyst targets, but faces headwinds from earnings misses and a bearish technical outlook. Risks include revenue volatility and competitive pressures in the BDC space, though institutional buy ratings suggest confidence in recovery potential. Investors should weigh income stability against growth challenges.
VYM trades at $161.06, up 0.32% with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages. The ETF focuses on high dividend yield stocks, offering income generation through quarterly distributions. Recent news highlights strong investor interest in dividend ETFs for retirement income, with VYM frequently compared to peers like VIG and SCHD for its diversified portfolio and low expense ratio.
The outlook remains positive for income-focused investors, with VYM providing stable dividend payments amid market volatility. Key risks include interest rate sensitivity and economic downturns affecting dividend sustainability. Analyst sentiment is generally favorable, emphasizing its role in balanced portfolios for long-term income generation.
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 →The advisor employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the index, which consists of common stocks of companies that pay dividends that generally are higher than average. The advisor attempts to replicate the target index by investing all, or substantially all, of the fund's assets in the stocks that make up the index, holding each stock in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the index.
Read more on VYM →