Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 100,374 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,860,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 27,713 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 10,530 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $213,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 4.0% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,956 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 10,616 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 34,362 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.60.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $20.04 on Monday. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1 year low of $17.40 and a 1 year high of $22.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.30 and its 200-day moving average is $18.85. The company has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 0.57.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The business had revenue of $768.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.19 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.80% and a net margin of 30.91%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 142.22%.

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.