Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Stake Lifted by Gilbert & Cook Inc.

Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,567,270 shares of the investment management company’s stock after buying an additional 52,682 shares during the period. Ares Capital accounts for 4.8% of Gilbert & Cook Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Gilbert & Cook Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $34,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 56.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $23.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.45 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. B. Riley raised their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.43.

Ares Capital 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.