United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $1.51 Million Investment in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Key Points

• United Capital Financial Advisors acquired 81,266 shares of Ares Capital worth approximately $1.51 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 27.38% of ARCC.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with eight Buy ratings and three Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $20.40 target price, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• Ares Capital reported quarterly EPS of $0.47, matching estimates, and declared a $0.48-per-share quarterly dividend. The dividend implies $1.92 in annualized payments and a 9.6% yield.

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 81,266 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $1,506,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the first quarter worth approximately $189,210,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $165,569,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at $120,538,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $63,140,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,867,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.40.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ARCC opened at $19.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.40 and a 52 week high of $22.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.10 and a 200-day moving average of $18.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 30.91%.The business had revenue of $768.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 142.22%.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation NASDAQ: ARCC is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm's flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.

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