HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,013,015 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 156,680 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.42% of Ares Capital worth $61,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its position in Ares Capital by 0.6% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 130,322 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its position in Ares Capital by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 44,755 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 14,685 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 92.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,404 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 3,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 76.3% in the third quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 73,108 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 31,640 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem purchased 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $19.37 on Tuesday. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $23.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.72.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The company had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Ares Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.9%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ARCC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

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.