ICG Advisors LLC Takes Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

ICG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 298,567 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,107,000. Ares Capital accounts for about 20.4% of ICG Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. City Holding Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 444.4% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Capital

In other news, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $761,241.27. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at $774,765. This represents a 44.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARCC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.13.

Ares Capital Price Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $19.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.58. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $17.40 and a 52 week high of $23.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.63.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 42.56%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.23%.

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.