Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital Corporation by 10.9%, holding a total of 1,259,805 shares valued at approximately $27.9 million.
• Ares Capital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, yielding 8.5% annually, with a payout ratio of 93.66%.
• Research analysts have set an average target price of $22.86 for Ares Capital, with the stock currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" by the majority of analysts.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,259,805 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 124,196 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.18% of Ares Capital worth $27,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Ares Capital by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 295,602 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $6,551,000 after purchasing an additional 14,897 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.0% in the first quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,662 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 26.5% in the first quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,799,023 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $62,026,000 after acquiring an additional 587,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 12,691 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.43. 358,091 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,550,306. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.70. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.26 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84. The business's 50 day moving average is $22.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $614.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $748.76 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 44.94% and a return on equity of 10.48%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. B. Riley upgraded Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $22.50 to $23.50 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.86.

About Ares Capital

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.