Farther Finance Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 87.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 138,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,634 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City Holding Co. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 444.4% in the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. SWAN Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ares Capital

In related news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $19.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 0.58. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.40 and a 12-month high of $23.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.66.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The business had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 103.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ARCC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.25.

Ares Capital Profile

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.