Community Trust & Investment Co. Purchases 4,831 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,505 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,831 shares during the quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 562.5% during the 3rd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ARCC shares. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.29.

Ares Capital Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $22.43 on Wednesday. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $22.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.24.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.56%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

Ares Capital Profile

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.