Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Sold by Fernwood Investment Management LLC

Fernwood Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,280 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 4,970 shares during the period. Ares Capital comprises approximately 1.2% of Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $4,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter worth $25,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 411.0% in the third quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 1,952 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 137.2% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 2,142 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 2,351 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC traded up $0.03 on Monday, reaching $20.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,765,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,537,504. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.02. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $17.53 and a 52-week high of $20.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The investment management company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.03. Ares Capital had a net margin of 58.22% and a return on equity of 12.50%. The business had revenue of $707.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $669.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.23%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 71.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, B. Riley cut shares of Ares Capital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.80.

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.