Rathbones Group PLC Grows Stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation by 31.1%, acquiring an additional 54,182 shares, bringing their total to 228,292 shares worth approximately $5,059,000.
• Ares Capital reported a quarterly earnings miss with $0.50 EPS compared to analyst expectations of $0.51, alongside revenues of $614 million which fell short of the anticipated $748.76 million.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, with an annual yield of 8.5%, and a payout ratio of 93.66%.

Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 31.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 228,292 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 54,182 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $5,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 320.7% in the 1st quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,628 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 193.9% in the 1st quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 1,828 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 121.1% in the 1st quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 281.3% in the 1st quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,440 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of ARCC traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.41. The stock had a trading volume of 3,309,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,541,202. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 0.70. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $22.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.01. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month 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 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 business posted $0.61 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.6%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. B. Riley raised 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. JMP Securities set a $23.00 target price on Ares Capital and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.