Ares Financial Consulting LLC Makes New $716,000 Investment in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 35,385 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. City Holding Co. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 201.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced 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 note on Monday, February 9th. Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.13.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Capital news, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. This trade represents 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.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $18.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.40 and a 52-week high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.50. The company had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.23%.

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.