Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Invests $1.10 Million in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 50,093 shares of the investment management company's stock, valued at approximately $1,097,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 17,033 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $58,159,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $2,872,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth about $222,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.44. The stock had a trading volume of 5,286,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,685,912. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $22.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.89. The company has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year 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.

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Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.96%. 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

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.