Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Bought by Atomi Financial Group Inc.

Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,557 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,639 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 10.6% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 49,405 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 4,749 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 26.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,020 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 39.7% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 5,832 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the second quarter worth approximately $2,083,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 177,553 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $3,700,000 after acquiring an additional 4,030 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ARCC shares. B. Riley lifted 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. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.29.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.38 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $23.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $15.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $22.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.35.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $755.00 million during 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%. Ares Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

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

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.