PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Cuts Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its stake in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 1.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 153,010 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 1,526 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 62.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,233 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 88.9% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock opened at $22.02 on Monday. Ares Capital Co. has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $22.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $21.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 53.71%. The firm had revenue of $755.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $770.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.72%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ARCC. UBS Group raised Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. B. Riley lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Compass Point upgraded Ares Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.86.

About Ares Capital

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.