Baugh & Associates LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Baugh & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 243,942 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,875 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital comprises 2.7% of Baugh & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Baugh & Associates LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $5,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 389,236 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $7,913,000 after buying an additional 20,202 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 614.8% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 7,198 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 6,191 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,497,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $123,000. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,384,752 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $27,737,000 after acquiring an additional 85,561 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,695,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,552,505. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.03 and its 200-day moving average is $20.50. The firm has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.12 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $18.55 and a 1-year high of $21.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 62.77% and a return on equity of 12.37%. The business had revenue of $701.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $703.85 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.18%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 65.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.50.

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.