Sfmg LLC Has $9.72 Million Stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Sfmg LLC increased its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 444,118 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 4,615 shares during the period. Ares Capital accounts for 0.8% of Sfmg LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Sfmg LLC owned 0.07% of Ares Capital worth $9,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ares Capital by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 40,697 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Palogic Value Management L.P. raised its position in Ares Capital by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Palogic Value Management L.P. now owns 104,565 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 4,970 shares in the last quarter. Condor Capital Management raised its position in Ares Capital by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Condor Capital Management now owns 200,634 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC raised its position in Ares Capital by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $21.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $23.84. The stock has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $22.85 and its 200 day moving average is $21.92.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.82%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ARCC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.94.

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.