Sowell Financial Services LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,464 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,086 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,455 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ARCC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $22.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $23.84. The firm has a market cap of $15.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.89.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 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, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.55%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

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.