VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Makes New $35,000 Investment in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,593 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC stock opened at $21.73 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.84%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ARCC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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 assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

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.