Stiles Financial Services Inc Purchases 22,879 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 91.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,957 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 22,879 shares during the period. Stiles Financial Services Inc's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $102,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $23.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,946,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,552,546. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.58. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.32%. 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.