Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $80.34 Million Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,999 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.61% of Ares Capital worth $80,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 151.4% in the second quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 45,698 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 27,523 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 681,724 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $14,275,000 after buying an additional 29,786 shares during the last quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at about $2,101,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 37,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.2% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,440,716 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $30,169,000 after acquiring an additional 44,235 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $21.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $22.05.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 73.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, August 5th. B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Compass Point upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.86.

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.