Empowered Funds LLC Has $1.41 Million Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 101.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,137 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,334 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,502 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 14.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,835,007 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $62,824,000 after purchasing an additional 358,829 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the first quarter worth $14,766,000. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.4% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 35,501 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $20.01 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.86. The company has a market capitalization of $14.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.56. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.40 and a fifty-two week high of $22.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. Ares Capital had a net margin of 30.91% and a return on equity of 9.80%. The company had revenue of $768.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 142.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ARCC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.40.

Ares Capital Company Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.