Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Sold by Enstar Group LTD

Enstar Group LTD lessened its position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 354,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 140,157 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital makes up approximately 2.8% of Enstar Group LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Enstar Group LTD’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $7,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canal Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 32,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners increased its position in Ares Capital by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 44,755 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,186 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 57,092 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $19.26 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.37. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.40 and a 12-month high of $23.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.56.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 37.30% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.0%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.65.

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.