EntryPoint Capital LLC Decreases Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

EntryPoint Capital LLC cut its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 52.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,229 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 3,591 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $67,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 582,578 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $12,129,000 after acquiring an additional 29,671 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 389,236 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $7,913,000 after acquiring an additional 20,202 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 614.8% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 7,198 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 6,191 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $1,497,000. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in Ares Capital by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,384,752 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $27,737,000 after purchasing an additional 85,561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC traded up $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,151,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,411,995. The company has a market cap of $12.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.65. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $18.55 and a 1 year high of $21.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $701.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 62.77% and a return on equity of 12.37%. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARCC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.57.

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.