Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Bought by First Affirmative Financial Network

First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 46.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,615 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 6,544 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ARCC. B. Riley raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.43.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $23.18 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.41. The stock has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $23.56.

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

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.