GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires New Stake in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 40,340 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $748,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 1st quarter valued at about $189,210,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of 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 worth $226,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301,890 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,943,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,380,000. Finally, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,089,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.7%

ARCC opened at $19.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $22.53.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 30.91%.The company had revenue of $768.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 142.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ARCC. B. Riley Financial cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company restated 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. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.40.

Ares Capital Company 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.