Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC has reduced its stock holdings in Ares Capital Corporation by 9.6%, now owning approximately 0.05% of the company, valued at around $7.97 million.
• Ares Capital recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, reflecting an annualized total of $1.92 with a dividend yield of 9.2%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Ares Capital, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.86, following various upgrades and downgrades from prominent research firms.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 355,708 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 37,809 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.05% of Ares Capital worth $7,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC now owns 79,049 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,638 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 252,123 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 5,095 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Ares Capital by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 83,457 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the period. Finally, Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 3.4% in the second quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 63,721 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on ARCC shares. JMP Securities set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. B. Riley raised Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $22.50 to $23.50 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.86.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $20.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.34 and a 200 day moving average of $21.79. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.26 and a 12 month high of $23.84. 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 firm has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.70.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS 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 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.2%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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