Ieq Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital Corporation by 38.5%, holding a total of 136,097 shares worth approximately $3.02 million.
• Ares Capital's recent earnings report indicated an EPS of $0.50, slightly below analysts’ expectations, with revenues of $614 million against a consensus estimate of $748.76 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, yielding 8.6%, which will be paid out on September 30th to shareholders of record as of September 15th.

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 38.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 136,097 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,821 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV grew 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 worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew 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 worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of ARCC stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $22.42. 1,601,302 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,398,702. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.70. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $22.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.92. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $23.84.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JMP Securities set a $23.00 price target on Ares Capital and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on 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, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.86.

Ares Capital 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.