Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Purchased by Hilton Capital Management LLC

Hilton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 357,173 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 8,012 shares during the period. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $7,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Ares Capital by 62.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,691 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 33,047 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its stake 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 worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. Finally, 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 valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of ARCC opened at $21.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $22.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $21.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.02. The stock has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.40 and a beta of 1.01.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on ARCC. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley lifted their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Compass Point raised Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.86.

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.