Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Sold by Denali Advisors LLC

Denali Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 595,041 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 28,529 shares during the period. Ares Capital accounts for 1.4% of Denali Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Denali Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Ares Capital worth $13,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 56.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 1.1 %

ARCC traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.38. The company had a trading volume of 3,864,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,295,037. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $23.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $15.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 1.01. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $22.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.79.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ARCC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.94.

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.