Baillie Gifford & Co. Buys 164,009 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. has increased its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) by 27.8%, owning approximately 0.11% of the company, valued at $16.7 million after purchasing an additional 164,009 shares.
• Ares Capital's stock received mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy" and target price estimates ranging from $21.00 to $24.00.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.50, missing expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48, equivalent to an annual yield of 8.31%.

Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 27.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 753,649 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 164,009 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.11% of Ares Capital worth $16,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital by 121.1% in the first 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. Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in Ares Capital by 281.3% in the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 137.6% in the first quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,704 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, B. Riley upgraded Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.71.

Ares Capital Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of ARCC traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,325,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,595,562. The firm has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $22.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $18.26 and a 52-week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 43.50% and a return on equity of 11.05%. The firm had revenue of $614.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $748.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation 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 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 8.42%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 93.66%.

Ares Capital Company 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.