Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 3,073 Shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 33.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,056 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 3,073 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.43.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.67 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.45. 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 capitalization of $15.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.74.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.01). The firm 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.