Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,699 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,027 shares during the quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Ares Capital by 56.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.29.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $23.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.53. The firm has a market cap of $15.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

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.