Axiom Advisory LLC Purchases 1,903 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Axiom Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 4.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 49,874 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 1,903 shares during the period. Axiom Advisory LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the 1st quarter worth $86,227,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Ares Capital by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,681,109 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $243,434,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961,166 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Ares Capital by 143.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 820,390 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $17,081,000 after purchasing an additional 484,088 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,815,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 52.7% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,354,097 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $28,192,000 after purchasing an additional 467,535 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC stock opened at $21.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $18.55 and a 1 year high of $21.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.71 and a 200 day moving average of $20.83. The company has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $714.27 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Compass Point raised shares of Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.71.

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.