Stablepoint Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Stablepoint Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,112 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Naples Global Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 50,346 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 3,668 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 6.5% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 205,329 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $4,550,000 after acquiring an additional 12,488 shares in the last quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth $264,000. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 356,439 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $7,899,000 after acquiring an additional 2,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $22.19 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.03 and a 200 day moving average of $21.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 0.68. Ares Capital Co. has a 12-month low of $18.26 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.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $599.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $769.32 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ares Capital from $24.50 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

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.