Advisors Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 326,351 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 3,757 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Ares Capital worth $6,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 323.3% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 93.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,922 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 218.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,960 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.9 %

Ares Capital stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $20.95. 2,150,837 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,414,021. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.63. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $18.55 and a 12 month high of $21.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.64. The company has a market cap of $12.87 billion, a PE ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 62.77%. The business had revenue of $701.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in acquisition, recapitalization, mezzanine debt, restructurings, rescue financing, and leveraged buyout transactions of middle market companies. It also makes growth capital and general refinancing. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, health care products and services, and information technology service sectors.