Sowell Financial Services LLC Sells 22,051 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Key Points

• Sowell Financial Services LLC decreased its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) by 59.6%, selling 22,051 shares and retaining 14,926 shares worth $328,000.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Ares Capital, with several firms including Wells Fargo and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods setting a target of $23.00 and giving the stock an "overweight" or "outperform" rating.
• Ares Capital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, which reflects a 9.3% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.

Sowell Financial Services LLC lessened its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 59.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,926 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 22,051 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 150,072 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $3,296,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Prostatis Group LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 2.1% during the first quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 21,768 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $482,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.5% during the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,809 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 3.1% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.2% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 47,935 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. JMP Securities set a $23.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.86.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.6%

ARCC stock opened at $20.56 on Friday. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $23.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.76. 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 company has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.70.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 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 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is currently 93.66%.

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.

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