Diversify Advisory Services LLC Takes $750,000 Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 39,707 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ARCC. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 6.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,502 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $273,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Ares Capital by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,835,007 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $62,824,000 after buying an additional 358,829 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 139.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,655 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $613,000 after buying an additional 16,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the first quarter worth $14,766,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $19.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Ares Capital Corporation has a one year low of $17.40 and a one year high of $22.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $18.92 and a 200 day moving average of $18.81.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47. The company had revenue of $768.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.19 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 30.91%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 142.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.40.

Ares Capital Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.