Clearstead Advisors LLC Buys 37,682 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 421,884 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 37,682 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Ares Capital worth $8,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at about $308,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,293 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 3,327 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in Ares Capital by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 110,670 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,255,000 after buying an additional 16,598 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $230,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,142,995 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $64,149,000 after buying an additional 141,686 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Capital news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $19.05 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 0.59. Ares Capital Corporation has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $20.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.61.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The company had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.1%. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 103.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ARCC. Wall Street Zen lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

About Ares Capital

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.