Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) Short Interest Up 11.0% in November

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,310,000 shares, a growth of 11.0% from the November 15th total of 15,590,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $213,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,318 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Capital by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 846,847 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $17,648,000 after purchasing an additional 53,340 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 861,594 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $17,956,000 after purchasing an additional 94,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 5.1% in the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,072 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Price Performance

ARCC stock opened at $21.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $21.65 and a 200 day moving average of $21.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $13.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 1.01. Ares Capital has a 1 year low of $19.32 and a 1 year high of $22.43.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ARCC shares. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ares Capital from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Ares Capital to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.29.

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.