Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Purchased by Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 159,290 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,732 shares during the quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BBR Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. BBR Partners LLC now owns 156,181 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,255,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 15.9% in the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 8,694 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 86,610 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 5,885 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 210,020 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,377,000 after purchasing an additional 12,942 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 28.2% in the second quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 32,185 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 7,081 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.81. 130,387 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,385,431. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $18.55 and a 12-month high of $21.84. The company has a market capitalization of $12.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $714.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Compass Point upgraded Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.71.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in acquisition, recapitalization, mezzanine debt, restructurings, rescue financing, and leveraged buyout transactions of middle market companies. It also makes growth capital and general refinancing. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, health care products and services, and information technology service sectors.