Sargent Investment Group LLC Buys 9,305 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 266,250 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 9,305 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital makes up about 1.1% of Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $5,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Capital by 62.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 32,691 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.1% in the first quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 24,805 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Chapin Davis Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% in the first quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 22,966 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,354 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Compass Point raised Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.71.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.2 %

ARCC opened at $20.33 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.77. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $18.55 and a 52 week high of $21.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The investment management company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $714.27 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 59.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 65.75%.

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.