Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Bought by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,630 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,157 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Partners Group Holding AG increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 1,767,154 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $36,068,000 after purchasing an additional 80,885 shares during the period. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $1,314,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $1,430,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,616,789 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $54,691,000 after acquiring an additional 138,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 662,533 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $13,403,000 after acquiring an additional 64,491 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ARCC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.65.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.4%

Ares Capital stock opened at $18.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.40 and a fifty-two week high of $23.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.30.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.6%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 117.79%.

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.