Palogic Value Management L.P. Purchases 4,970 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Palogic Value Management L.P. boosted its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,565 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,970 shares during the period. Palogic Value Management L.P.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 19,148 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 21,851 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,182 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Western Financial Corp CA grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,387 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,086 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $21.73 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $22.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

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.