Sunbelt Securities Inc. Buys 4,522 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC – Get Rating) by 8.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,703 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,522 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $974,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CCLA Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter worth $33,164,000. Progeny 3 Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,479,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 122.7% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,845,265 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $31,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,632 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 160.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,117,111 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $23,403,000 after purchasing an additional 687,496 shares during the period. Finally, Ares Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 35.7% in the first quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 2,361,573 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $49,475,000 after buying an additional 621,814 shares during the last quarter. 32.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ARCC. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, March 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on Ares Capital in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.71.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $17.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.93. Ares Capital Co. has a 52 week low of $16.53 and a 52 week high of $22.65.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.02%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 160.00%.

Ares Capital Profile

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Ares Commercial Finance provides asset-based cash flow solutions to small and middle-market companies. ACF works with borrowers to deliver creative, flexible, and comprehensive financing solutions. Ares Commercial Finance has the ability to structure and agent deals to support the growth and changing capital needs of clients.