EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased 14,238 shares of Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC), valued at approximately $316,000, in the first quarter.
• Ares Capital's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $0.50, missing expectations, and had a revenue of $614 million, compared to a consensus estimate of $748.76 million.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48, representing an annual yield of 8.5% with a payout ratio of 93.66%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,238 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 12,027 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $1,260,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 31,400 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 7,547 shares in the last quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. McGowan Group Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,042,586 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $22,822,000 after purchasing an additional 3,907 shares during the period. Finally, Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 174,913 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $3,829,000 after purchasing an additional 18,898 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.4%

Ares Capital stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.30. The stock had a trading volume of 4,924,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,885,228. 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 $15.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.70. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month high of $23.84. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $22.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.87.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 44.94%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.6%. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 93.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. B. Riley raised Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $22.50 to $23.50 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.