Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Acquired by Prairiewood Capital LLC

Prairiewood Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,842 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,779 shares during the period. Ares Capital accounts for approximately 1.7% of Prairiewood Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Prairiewood Capital LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. JBR Co Financial Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 33,047 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 1.2% in the third quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 43,609 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 3.9% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,428 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% during the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 25,823 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,842 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $23.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $23.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $21.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.31.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The company’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.28%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

Ares Capital Company 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.