Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Bought by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 63,999 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.61% of Ares Capital worth $80,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARCC. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $272,000. Castle Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.5% in the third quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,724 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.2% in the third quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 236,338 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $4,767,000 after acquiring an additional 2,799 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 9.7% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 82,970 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 7,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balentine LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $614,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. B. Riley increased their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.86.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.9 %

Ares Capital stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,875,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,381,730. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $21.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.96. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $22.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.85%.

Ares Capital Company 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.