Waterloo Capital L.P. Purchases 9,139 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 138,599 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,139 shares during the quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 92.6% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in Ares Capital by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Down 7.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $19.97 on Friday. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $22.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.02. The stock has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.61%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ARCC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.94.

Ares Capital Company 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.