Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 228,531 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,649 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $4,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. City Holding Co. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 444.4% during the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. SWAN Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.38.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $17.45 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Ares Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.40 and a twelve month high of $23.42. The company has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.59.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The firm had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 103.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $761,241.27. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ares Capital Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.