Challenger Wealth Management Invests $4.75 Million in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Challenger Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 216,998 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $4,750,000. Ares Capital accounts for about 4.1% of Challenger Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ARCC. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $84,426,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $58,159,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Ares Capital by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $309,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489,552 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Ares Capital by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,678,525 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $58,633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198,580 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,268,547 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $93,439,000 after purchasing an additional 881,450 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $22.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,730,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,131,596. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.06 and a 200-day moving average of $21.93. The company has a market capitalization of $15.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $599.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.32 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 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.