Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Shares Sold by Whitener Capital Management Inc.

Whitener Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,586 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,225 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $67,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 562.5% during the third quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,300 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. B. Riley lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.29.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.18 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. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $23.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.29. The firm has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Ares Capital’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.28%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.85%.

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.