Stephens Inc. AR reduced its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC – Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,136,260 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 38,562 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $22,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 201.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. B. Riley Financial lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.75.
Ares Capital Trading Down 0.2%
Shares of ARCC stock opened at $18.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.40 and a fifty-two week high of $23.42.
Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 37.30%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.
Ares Capital Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.2%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 117.79%.
Ares Capital Profile
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.
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