Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC Invests $2.81 Million in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 128,132 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,805,000. Ares Capital comprises 2.7% of Cornerstone Select Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,521 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $20.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.90. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $18.26 and a 52-week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $599.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.32 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.27%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ARCC. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James cut Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

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.