Werlinich Asset Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Werlinich Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 38,030 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ARCC. Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 32,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Ares Capital by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,830 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its stake 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 valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ares Capital by 1.0% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 57,092 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ARCC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.38.

Insider Activity at Ares Capital

In other Ares Capital news, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the chief financial officer owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $761,241.27. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer 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. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ares Capital Stock Down 0.5%

ARCC opened at $18.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.50 and its 200 day moving average is $20.17. Ares Capital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $17.59 and a fifty-two week high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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%.Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.6%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.