Icon Advisers Inc. Co. Buys New Shares in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Icon Advisers Inc. Co. purchased a new stake in Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 169,856 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,467,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARCC. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 6.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,502 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Ares Capital during the first quarter valued at approximately $273,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Capital by 14.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,835,007 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $62,824,000 after purchasing an additional 358,829 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Ares Capital by 139.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 27,655 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 16,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the first quarter valued at approximately $14,766,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of ARCC opened at $18.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08 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. Ares Capital Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.17 and a 52 week high of $23.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.20 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.23%.

Insider Activity at Ares Capital

In other news, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at $761,241.27. This represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel acquired 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.13 per share, for a total transaction of $239,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.