Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Sold by Harbour Investments Inc.

Harbour Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 58.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,887 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 28,441 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $226,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301,890 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,943,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Ares Capital by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,408,067 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $109,432,000 after buying an additional 761,838 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 8.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,678,129 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $190,572,000 after acquiring an additional 705,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $14,766,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. B. Riley Financial reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.75.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC stock opened at $19.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.58. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.40 and a 1 year high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 37.30% and a return on equity of 9.85%. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 117.79%.

About Ares Capital

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.