Creekmur Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,923 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 93.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,922 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 218.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,960 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 137.2% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,142 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.5 %

Ares Capital stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.68. 5,280,195 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,307,635. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $18.00 and a 1-year high of $21.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

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.