Larson Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,421 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,604 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $272,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $223,000. SpiderRock Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 113.5% during the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 134,314 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,813,000 after buying an additional 71,403 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 8.2% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 51,256 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,073,000 after buying an additional 3,868 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.87. The stock has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.34%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.