Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV Grows Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV increased its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 106,608 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 1,809 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital comprises about 0.4% of Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Mainstay Capital Management LLC ADV’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. B. Riley increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.30 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $22.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.24%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

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.