Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) CFO Purchases $100,037.94 in Stock

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) CFO Scott Lem bought 5,186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was 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 owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $761,241.27. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Ares Capital Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ARCC stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $19.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,643,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,301,442. The company has a market cap of $13.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.83. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $23.63.

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. The business had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is presently 103.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Prostatis Group LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 2.1% in the second quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 22,236 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 0.8% in the second quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 65,514 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,439,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 32,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Ares Capital by 1.3% during the third quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,394 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARCC has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $22.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.