Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 345,742 shares of the investment management company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,123 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $7,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ARCC. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ares Capital by 33.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 275,891 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $5,557,000 after acquiring an additional 69,844 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 265.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 74,725 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 54,267 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the second quarter valued at $309,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,810,000. Finally, Muzinich & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Muzinich & Co. Inc. now owns 1,640,113 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $33,475,000 after acquiring an additional 267,062 shares in the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ares Capital

In related 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 acquired at an average price of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at $761,241.27. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ARCC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Capital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Ares Capital stock opened at $19.51 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $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 Corporation has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70.

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

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio 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.