Barclays PLC Boosts Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 60.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,721 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,993 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $4,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARCC. Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ares Capital by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 115,744 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,410,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at $252,000. Sfmg LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.3% in the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 439,503 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $9,203,000 after purchasing an additional 18,056 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Ares Capital by 382.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 61,609 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 48,848 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 63,385 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,327,000 after buying an additional 3,726 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $20.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 948,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,107,735. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.77. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $18.26 and a 1-year high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $769.32 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.