Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Acquires 30,668 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) by 6.0% during the first quarter, owning approximately $11.18 million worth of shares.
• Ares Capital recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 8.6%.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on Ares Capital, with one sell rating, two hold ratings, and seven buy ratings, leading to an average price target of $22.86.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 538,042 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,668 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC owned 0.08% of Ares Capital worth $11,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Ares Capital by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,521 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 2.5% in the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,809 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA increased its position in Ares Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,961 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 0.6% in the first quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 104,519 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $2,316,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 1.1% in the first quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,776 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities set a $23.00 price objective on Ares Capital and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. B. Riley upgraded Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.86.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $22.60. 1,206,340 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,549,576. 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 fifty-two week low of $18.26 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84. The company has a market cap of $15.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's fifty day moving average is $22.31 and its 200 day moving average is $22.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 44.94%. The company had revenue of $614.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $748.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Ares Capital's 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.