Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Takes $1.10 Million Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 50,093 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,097,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Up 3.0 %

ARCC stock opened at $23.01 on Monday. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $23.84. The company has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.88.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.34%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.