MQS Management LLC Makes New $915,000 Investment in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 50,785 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $915,000. Ares Capital comprises 0.6% of MQS Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Spinnaker Trust boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.4% in the first quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,276,014 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $22,994,000 after purchasing an additional 65,073 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 2.7% during the first quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 80,336 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 18.7% during the first quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 32,384 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 5,092 shares in the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 13.7% in the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 83,100 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,497,000 after buying an additional 10,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 398.1% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,055,150 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $19,014,000 after buying an additional 843,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ARCC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.65.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $18.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.71 and its 200-day moving average is $19.14. The company has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.56. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $23.42.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.4%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 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.