Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Holdings Boosted by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company grew its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 318,578 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,118 shares during the period. Ares Capital makes up 0.8% of Romano Brothers AND Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Romano Brothers AND Company owned about 0.05% of Ares Capital worth $6,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARCC. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position 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. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 88.9% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $21.50 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.90. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $18.59 and a twelve month high of $21.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Ares Capital had a net margin of 59.76% and a return on equity of 12.24%. The company had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $714.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 65.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Ares Capital

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.