Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Short Interest Update

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 40,327,502 shares, an increase of 37.5% from the February 26th total of 29,328,894 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,874,331 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at Ares Capital

In other Ares Capital news, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at $774,765. The trade was a 44.64% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $1,305,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,251,437 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $45,547,000 after buying an additional 79,488 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,920 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 8,637 shares in the last quarter. Eos Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter worth $1,416,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,193,526 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $24,145,000 after buying an additional 4,064 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC opened at $17.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $17.40 and a twelve month high of $23.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.95.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.38.

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.