Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 1,410 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,405 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 62.7% in the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.2 %

Ares Capital stock opened at $21.58 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $22.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $21.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.90%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ARCC. UBS Group raised shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. B. Riley lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.86.

Ares Capital 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.