Kovack Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,218 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 41.3% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 26,338 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 7,695 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 11,990 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 1,966 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 18.6% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 44,656 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $930,000 after acquiring an additional 6,992 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 33.7% in the first quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 73,123 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 18,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the first quarter worth approximately $223,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.51 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $22.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.09 and its 200-day moving average is $21.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ARCC shares. StockNews.com raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. B. Riley raised 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 restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.86.

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.