Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stock Holdings Boosted by TCW Group Inc.

TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 7.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 714,971 shares of the investment management company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,538 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Ares Capital worth $14,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 88.9% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Ares Capital stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $22.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,476,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,454,973. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $22.43. The company has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $21.63 and a 200 day moving average of $21.13.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.70%. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ares Capital from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Ares Capital to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.29.

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.