Stephens Inc. AR Sells 38,562 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,136,260 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 38,562 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR owned about 0.16% of Ares Capital worth $22,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. UBS Group AG grew its position in Ares Capital by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $226,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,301,890 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at about $36,943,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Ares Capital by 8.9% in 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. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the first quarter valued at about $14,766,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Ares Capital by 182.2% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 893,834 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $18,243,000 after acquiring an additional 577,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $18.90 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.55. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $23.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 117.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.75.

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.