McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC Invests $74,000 in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC – Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. WESTERN FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. WESTERN FINANCIAL Corp now owns 21,292 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 27,850 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 50,533 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Merriman Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Merriman Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,001 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Advantage Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Advantage Inc. now owns 135,228 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. 32.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.71.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $17.43 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $19.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $16.53 and a fifty-two week high of $22.65.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 160.00%.

Ares Capital Profile

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Ares Commercial Finance provides asset-based cash flow solutions to small and middle-market companies. ACF works with borrowers to deliver creative, flexible, and comprehensive financing solutions. Ares Commercial Finance has the ability to structure and agent deals to support the growth and changing capital needs of clients.