Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) CEO Purchases $239,125.00 in Stock

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $19.91 on Thursday. Ares Capital Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $23.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.33 and its 200 day moving average is $20.80.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The business had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 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 Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 103.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,201,905 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $226,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301,890 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Ares Capital by 825.4% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,551,711 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $77,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,167,906 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter worth about $36,943,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 18.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,404,876 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $140,651,000 after buying an additional 1,006,460 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 56.9% during the 2nd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 2,342,324 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $51,437,000 after buying an additional 849,097 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Ares Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Senior insiders bought stock: CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares and CFO Scott Lem bought 5,186 shares in early February — a bullish signal of management confidence in the shares. Insider Trading Alert
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial reiterated a Buy rating on ARCC, which supports investor demand and provides a near-term analyst-backed floor under the stock. Truist Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Sector commentary: a Seeking Alpha piece flags that many BDCs face dividend pressure if rates fall, but names ARCC as relatively resilient due to scale and premium positioning — a qualitative positive for longer-term dividend stability. Seeking Alpha: BDC Dividend Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro note: a strong jobs report reduced near-term odds of multiple Fed cuts, and a roundup suggested locking in high-yield dividend names — macro-driven rate path could help BDC yields if rates stay higher longer. Jobs Report / High-Yield Roundup
• Neutral Sentiment: Data oddity on short interest: two recent short-interest reports show 0 shares and NaN changes — likely a reporting error; no actionable signal from short-interest days-to-cover given the anomalous figures.
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative coverage: some outlets highlight alternative high-yield names (e.g., Realty Income) as better buys today, underscoring competition for income-seeking capital but not directly implying deterioration at ARCC. Fool: Comparative Idea
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada issued a pessimistic forecast for ARCC’s stock price, introducing downside pressure from an influential analyst. RBC Pessimistic Forecast

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ARCC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.