Evoke Wealth LLC Boosts Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,318 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 92.6% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $21.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.92. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.