Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,165 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 56.8% during the 3rd 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 period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $23.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.53. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.37. The stock has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 73.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ARCC shares. B. Riley lifted 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. 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, StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.29.

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.