Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Shares Bought by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 345,742 shares of the investment management company’s stock after acquiring an additional 90,123 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $7,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fountainhead AM LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 65,514 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,394 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 10.0% during the second quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,830 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 1.3% during the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 44,755 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ARCC. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $19.51 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Ares Capital Corporation has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.63. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.59.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The company had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.8%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.