Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Position Increased by Providence Capital Advisors LLC

Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 153,385 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $22.36 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $23.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted 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, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

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.