Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Sold by Callodine Capital Management LP

Callodine Capital Management LP lowered its position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 50.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 50,000 shares during the period. Callodine Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $1,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. City Holding Co. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 444.4% in the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Capital by 201.0% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Capital

In other Ares Capital news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of the firm’s 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 purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem purchased 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.38.

Ares Capital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analyst consensus still leans favorable — several write-ups note analysts’ recommendations and an overall “buy/hold” tilt that supports interest in ARCC from income-seeking investors. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Ares Capital (ARCC)
• Positive Sentiment: Ares was featured in an article highlighting high-yield/dividend names attractive to income investors — this can sustain demand from yield-focused funds and retail buyers. Risk-Savvy Investors Love 4 Passive Income Kings Yielding 10% and More
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target (from $22 to $19) while keeping an overweight rating — the lower target trims upside but the positive rating limits downside impact. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports flagged unusually large options activity in ARCC, which can signal short-term positioning or hedging but isn’t definitive on direction. Ares Capital Target of Unusually Large Options Trading
• Neutral Sentiment: Market headlines documenting a recent intraday price drop are amplifying attention but mainly reflect short-term trading volatility rather than new company fundamentals. Ares Capital Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported appears inconsistent (zeros/NaN), so there’s no clear signal from short-position metrics at this time. (Data quality issue.)
• Negative Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target from $21 to $19 and moved to a “neutral” rating — a downgrade in analyst sentiment that reduces the stock’s perceived upside and likely weighs on price. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market concern about “PIK” (paid-in-kind) loans — borrowers paying interest with IOUs instead of cash — raises credit-quality worries for loan-focused vehicles like ARCC, pressuring sentiment for BDCs and leveraged-credit lenders. ‘PIK’ Loans Are the Market’s Latest Concern

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $17.86 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.28. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.59 and a 1-year high of $23.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.59.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The business had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.8%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.23%.

About Ares Capital

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.