Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Acquired by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Key Points

• Sunbelt Securities increased its Ares Capital stake by 37.4% in the first quarter, adding 62,352 shares to hold 228,982 shares valued at approximately $4.13 million.
• Other institutional investors also raised their positions, while institutional and hedge-fund ownership accounted for 27.38% of Ares Capital’s outstanding shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with eight Buy ratings and three Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $20.60. The stock recently opened at $19.04, and the company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.47 matched estimates.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 37.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 228,982 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 62,352 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.'s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $4,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 1st quarter worth about $5,754,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital by 101.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,137 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 39,334 shares during the last quarter. Enstar Group LTD grew its stake in Ares Capital by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Enstar Group LTD now owns 363,351 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $6,548,000 after purchasing an additional 8,396 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 6.2% in the first quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,121,008 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $56,241,000 after purchasing an additional 182,651 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 21.2% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 378,669 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $6,824,000 after purchasing an additional 66,329 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Friday, June 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. 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 note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.60.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.8%

ARCC opened at $19.04 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.56. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.40 and a fifty-two week high of $22.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Ares Capital had a net margin of 37.30% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $768.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.19 million. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation NASDAQ: ARCC is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm's flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.

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