Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 170,922 Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 170,922 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,458,000. Ares Capital makes up about 2.0% of Closed End Fund Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $226,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,301,890 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,943,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 16.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,408,067 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $109,432,000 after acquiring an additional 761,838 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $190,572,000 after acquiring an additional 705,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter valued at about $14,766,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ARCC. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.75.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $18.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.39. The company has a market capitalization of $13.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 37.30%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 117.79%.

Ares Capital Company 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.