Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 62.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 129,933 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 215,809 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $2,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SWAN Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 201.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 27.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of ARCC stock opened at $18.94 on Friday. Ares Capital Corporation has a 1-year low of $17.40 and a 1-year high of $23.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $13.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.58.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $763.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $778.00 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 37.30% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARCC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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 report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.75.

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.