Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Holdings Boosted by Ares Management LLC

Ares Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,054,376 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 192,463 shares during the quarter. Ares Capital accounts for 1.6% of Ares Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Ares Management LLC owned about 0.29% of Ares Capital worth $41,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARCC. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 825.4% in the 2nd 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $36,943,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Ares Capital by 18.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,404,876 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $140,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,460 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its stake in Ares Capital by 56.9% in 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 during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in Ares Capital by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,900,015 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $161,239,000 after buying an additional 836,826 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ARCC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.38.

Key Ares Capital News

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 Price Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $17.86 on Friday. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.59 and a fifty-two week high of $23.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.27. 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 cap of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.59.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $795.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.8%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were purchased 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. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ares Capital 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.