Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Purchased by Sierra Capital LLC

Sierra Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 148.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,290 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,034 shares during the period. Sierra Capital LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 151.4% during the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 45,698 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 27,523 shares during the period. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $2,101,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 206.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 55,516 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 37,412 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 13.4% during the second quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 651,938 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $13,586,000 after buying an additional 76,960 shares during the period. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP lifted its position in Ares Capital by 4.5% during the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 225,752 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,700,000 after buying an additional 9,750 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $21.65. 1,181,506 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,390,616. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.89. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $18.55 and a 52 week high of $21.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $714.27 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Compass Point upgraded Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group upgraded Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.71.

Ares Capital 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.