Riverbridge Partners LLC Boosts Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Riverbridge Partners LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 72.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 101,851 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 42,951 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARCC. City Holding Co. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 444.4% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. SWAN Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.38.

Ares Capital Trading Down 2.6%

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $17.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.59. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.40 and a 52 week high of $23.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.17 and a 200 day moving average of $19.98.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The business had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 103.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Capital news, CFO Scott C. Lem purchased 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.