Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Acquired by Stableford Capital II LLC

Stableford Capital II LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 35.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,743 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,959 shares during the quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $241,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 55,241 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,198 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 51.1% in the 1st quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 21,362 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 7,223 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 121.1% in the 1st quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $21.51 on Friday. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $23.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $21.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.93.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.05% and a net margin of 43.50%. The firm had revenue of $599.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. Ares Capital's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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