NorthRock Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 26,742 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $585,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,521 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC remained flat at $21.91 during trading on Monday. 4,179,182 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,136,668. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business's fifty day moving average price is $21.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.90. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.26 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84. The company has a market cap of $15.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.70.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $599.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.32 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.76%. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 93.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.00.

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.