Fifth Third Bancorp Increases Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1,946.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,749 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 110,092 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. SWAN Capital LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $18.95 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Ares Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $17.40 and a twelve month high of $23.20. The company has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.56.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 37.30%.The business had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $778.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 117.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ARCC shares. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, B. Riley Financial decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.60.

Ares Capital Profile

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ: ARCC) is a publicly traded business development company (BDC) that specializes in providing debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle-market companies. As a BDC, Ares Capital offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of tailored credit investments, including senior secured loans, unitranche financing, mezzanine debt and equity co-investments. The firm’s flexible capital structures are designed to support companies seeking growth capital, refinancing or strategic acquisitions.

Through its credit platform, Ares Capital focuses on originations, underwriting and portfolio management across a range of industries, with a particular emphasis on sectors such as healthcare, technology, industrials and business services.