Two Sigma Investments LP Acquires 1,198,580 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 81.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,678,525 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,198,580 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.40% of Ares Capital worth $58,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $519,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $1,512,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 507,374 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $11,208,000 after purchasing an additional 25,347 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 43,056 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares during the period. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $671,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.59. The stock had a trading volume of 2,118,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,142,483. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.92. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.84. The firm has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 93.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

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.