Sfmg LLC Has $10.25 Million Stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Key Points

• Sfmg LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital Corporation by 4.1%, holding 462,399 shares, which represent about 0.8% of its portfolio.
• Ares Capital recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equating to an annual yield of 8.6% and a payout ratio of 93.66%.
• The company reported a net revenue of $614 million for the last quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $748.76 million.

Sfmg LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 462,399 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,281 shares during the period. Ares Capital comprises approximately 0.8% of Sfmg LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Sfmg LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Ares Capital worth $10,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 10.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,259,805 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $27,917,000 after purchasing an additional 124,196 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.3% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 295,602 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $6,551,000 after buying an additional 14,897 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 3.4% during the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 125,077 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,772,000 after buying an additional 4,096 shares during the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.0% during the first quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,662 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $720,000 after buying an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CCLA Investment Management increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 26.5% during the first quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,799,023 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $62,026,000 after buying an additional 587,068 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.86.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $22.39. 3,406,833 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,579,199. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.70. Ares Capital Corporation has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

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

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.