UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Takes Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,458 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 5,403 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 4.6% during the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 15,098 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Ares Capital by 25.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 222,101 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,651,000 after acquiring an additional 44,548 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 331.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 178,224 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $3,732,000 after acquiring an additional 136,927 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 11.1% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 41,408 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $867,000 after acquiring an additional 4,137 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $22.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $23.84. 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’s 50-day moving average is $22.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.96.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.59%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

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.