Cascade Investment Group Inc. Has $1.42 Million Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Cascade Investment Group Inc. lowered its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 65,011 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the period. Ares Capital comprises approximately 1.0% of Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cascade Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 562.5% during the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.29.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $23.18 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $21.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $23.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

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.