Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Purchased by Palogic Value Management L.P.

Palogic Value Management L.P. raised its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,565 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 4,970 shares during the period. Palogic Value Management L.P.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $22.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.97. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted 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 return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.68%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Ares Capital 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.