Confluence Investment Management LLC Buys 21,344 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired an additional 21,344 shares of Ares Capital Corporation, bringing its total holdings to approximately 3.8 million shares, valued at around $83.4 million.
• Ares Capital reported earnings of $0.50 per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations, and has a current dividend yield of 8.6%.
• Research firms have shown increased confidence in Ares Capital's stock, with upgrades from several analysts and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", targeting a price of $22.86.

Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,796,791 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 21,344 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.55% of Ares Capital worth $83,378,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 320.7% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 193.9% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,828 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 121.1% during the first quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 281.3% during the first quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $21.38. 3,810,516 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,426,769. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $22.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.70. Ares Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $23.84.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 44.94%.The business had revenue of $614.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $748.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.0%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ARCC shares. B. Riley raised shares of Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.86.

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.