Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Stock Holdings Lifted by Advisors Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ares Capital Corporation by 3.0%, holding 3,627,990 shares, which accounts for approximately 1.2% of their total portfolio.
• Ares Capital recently reported earnings of $0.50 per share, missing estimates of $0.51, and had a revenue of $614 million compared to expectations of $748.76 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing an annualized yield of 8.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,627,990 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 104,339 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital makes up about 1.2% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned about 0.52% of Ares Capital worth $80,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 320.7% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 193.9% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,828 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the period. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 121.1% during the first quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 281.3% during the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC traded down $0.24 on Tuesday, hitting $21.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,982,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,403,684. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.53 and a 200-day moving average of $21.85. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 44.94%.The company had revenue of $614.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $748.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 93.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. B. Riley raised Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JMP Securities set a $23.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.86.

About Ares Capital

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.