Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) is Denali Advisors LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Denali Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 595,041 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 28,529 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital accounts for 1.4% of Denali Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $13,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 92.6% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.75. Ares Capital Co. has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $23.84.

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

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.29%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James cut Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.