Cetera Investment Advisers Cuts Stake in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,424,860 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 48,204 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Ares Capital were worth $25,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 10.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 143,316 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 13,776 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,529 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 26,753 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,734,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $18.78 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.56. Ares Capital Corporation has a one year low of $17.40 and a one year high of $23.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $18.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.95.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.00 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.9 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 117.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. Wall Street Zen raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.