Partners Group Holding AG Boosts Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Key Points

• Partners Group Holding AG increased its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) by 3.5%, owning approximately 1.5% of the firm's portfolio, valued at $36.62 million.
• Ares Capital reported earnings of $0.50 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, with analysts predicting a full-year EPS of 2.19.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing an annual yield of 8.6%, with a payout ratio of 93.66%.

Partners Group Holding AG raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,652,729 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,139 shares during the period. Ares Capital comprises approximately 1.5% of Partners Group Holding AG's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Partners Group Holding AG owned about 0.24% of Ares Capital worth $36,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Ares Capital by 320.7% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 121.1% in 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. Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 281.3% in 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. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 137.6% in the 1st quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,704 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the topic of several recent research reports. B. Riley upgraded Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued 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 target price of $22.86.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of ARCC stock traded down $0.0990 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.2910. 3,485,838 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,508,253. The company has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.26 and a 12 month high of $23.84. The company's 50-day moving average price is $22.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.98.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $614.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $748.76 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 44.94%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.6%. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 93.66%.

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.