Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) Short Interest Update

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 22,043,281 shares, a growth of 30.1% from the January 29th total of 16,944,547 shares. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 8,629,073 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Based on an average daily volume of 8,629,073 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Capital

In related news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. City Holding Co. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 444.4% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth $27,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $18.98 on Tuesday. 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 $18.17 and a twelve month high of $23.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.97 and a 200-day moving average of $20.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 0.59.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The business had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio 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.