BankPlus Trust Department Makes New $1.76 Million Investment in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 80,155 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,755,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Ares Capital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Western Financial Corp CA lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,086 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the period. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 16,455 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.30 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $15.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.71. Ares Capital Co. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.24%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. B. Riley upped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

About Ares Capital

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.