Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Has $2.19 Million Stock Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 114.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,000 shares of the investment management company's stock after buying an additional 49,000 shares during the period. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC's holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,291 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth $576,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 10.9% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 73,741 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 7,236 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $1,528,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 60,464 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC traded up $0.02 during trading on Monday, reaching $19.93. 2,831,322 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,006,274. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $18.26 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. The firm has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.98.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 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%. Analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's dividend payout ratio is 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on ARCC. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.81.

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.