Aquatic Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 63.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,061 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 129,361 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $7,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $308,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC now owns 32,956 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 104.0% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 381,633 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $8,354,000 after purchasing an additional 194,552 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 44,739 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 10,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burling Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $263,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ ARCC traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.48. 1,922,457 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,189,848. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $18.26 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $21.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $599.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.32 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.22.

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.