Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC Stock Sold by New South Capital Management Inc.

New South Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 43.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 198,056 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 151,889 shares during the period. New South Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $3,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Riverbridge Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 36.8% during the third quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 152,288 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,909,000 after acquiring an additional 40,999 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Ares Capital by 1.2% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 68,550 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 7.9% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 838,016 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $16,006,000 after purchasing an additional 61,362 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Ares Capital by 56.6% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 67,771 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 24,500 shares during the period. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in Ares Capital by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 74,334 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 3,049 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ARCC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.39.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $19.46 on Thursday. Ares Capital Corporation has a 12 month low of $17.40 and a 12 month high of $21.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.98. The company has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95 and a beta of 0.60.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The investment management company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.02). Ares Capital had a net margin of 28.34% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The firm had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $776.34 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 157.38%.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company that provides financing to U.S. middle-market companies, including businesses backed by private equity firms. It is externally managed by Ares Capital Management, an affiliate of Ares Management Corporation. The company invests primarily in debt, including first-lien and second-lien loans and subordinated debt, and may also make equity investments. Its financing supports a range of business needs, such as acquisitions, growth, and refinancing.