Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 582,578 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,671 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Ares Capital worth $12,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARCC. Nemes Rush Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 323.3% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 93.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,922 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in Ares Capital by 411.0% during 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.3 %

ARCC stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.61. 2,902,245 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,632,858. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $20.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.06. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.53 and a fifty-two week high of $21.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.99.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The investment management company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $701.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $703.85 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.37% and a net margin of 62.77%. The business’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. B. Riley cut Ares Capital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.43.

Ares Capital Company 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.