Stifel Financial Corp Raises Stock Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,333,402 shares of the investment management company's stock after acquiring an additional 146,319 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.35% of Ares Capital worth $51,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% in the 4th 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 holdings in Ares Capital by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,521 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.11. 2,818,110 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,090,548. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $18.26 and a 12-month high of $23.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.95. The company has a market cap of $14.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.77.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. As a group, sell-side 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their target price 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. Raymond James cut Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.33.

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.