Certior Financial Group LLC Acquires New Shares in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Certior Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 68,735 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,505,000. Ares Capital accounts for 1.3% of Certior Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,521 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA raised its stake in Ares Capital by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ARCC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $19.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.03 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.03. The firm has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.77.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

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.