Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Increases Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 382.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,609 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,848 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JBR Co Financial Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% during the third quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 33,047 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 43,609 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 3.9% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 14,428 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% during the third quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 25,823 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 6.2% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,842 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.29.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $21.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $22.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.13.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.85%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.85%.

Ares Capital 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.