Naples Global Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,385 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 750 shares during the quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.58. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.32%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Ares Capital Company 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.