Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Position Boosted by Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 164,914 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Finally, 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 buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $21.44 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a one year low of $19.32 and a one year high of $23.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.91 and its 200-day moving average is $21.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.96%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARCC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

About Ares Capital

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.