Ascent Capital Management LLC Invests $516,000 in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Ascent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 23,558 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000. Ares Capital makes up 0.5% of Ascent Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 92.6% during 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. lifted its position 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 worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.7 %

ARCC stock opened at $21.28 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $23.84. 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 company has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.90.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.02%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ARCC shares. 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 research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

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.