106,005 Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Sold by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Key Points

• Salem Investment Counselors cut its Ares Capital stake by 54.1% in the third quarter, selling 106,005 shares and retaining 90,066 shares valued at approximately $1.72 million.
• Ares Capital reported quarterly EPS of $0.47, in line with analyst expectations, while revenue reached $768 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equivalent to a 10.3% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on ARCC, with eight Buy ratings and three Holds and an average price target of $20.39, above its reported $18.59 opening price.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lessened its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,066 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 106,005 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ARCC. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. TOP Private Wealth LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC opened at $18.59 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $13.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 0.61. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $21.14. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.96.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The business had revenue of $768.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.19 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 30.91% and a return on equity of 9.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 142.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.39.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation NASDAQ: ARCC is a specialty finance company that operates as a business development company (BDC). It provides financing to middle-market companies, primarily through directly originated loans and other investments. Ares Capital seeks to support businesses that may require capital for acquisitions, growth initiatives, recapitalizations, refinancings and other corporate purposes.

The company invests across a range of industries and typically provides first-lien senior secured loans, second-lien loans, subordinated debt and, to a lesser extent, equity investments.

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