Verus Capital Partners LLC Acquires 2,331 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,307 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,331 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 62.7% in the second quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 88.9% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $21.54 on Thursday. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $22.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on ARCC shares. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. B. Riley upped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Compass Point raised Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.86.

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.