Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC reduced its position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 379,324 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 59,483 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $7,674,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SWAN Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $33,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 201.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $18.74 on Friday. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $23.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.48 and a 200 day moving average of $19.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 117.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.75.

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.