Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stake Raised by Allen Investment Management LLC

Allen Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,778,492 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 114,180 shares during the period. Ares Capital makes up about 0.5% of Allen Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Allen Investment Management LLC owned 0.29% of Ares Capital worth $37,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 62.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 323.3% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC opened at $20.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.76. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $18.55 and a one year high of $21.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $714.27 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.43%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 65.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ARCC shares. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.71.

Ares Capital 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.