New South Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC)

New South Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 517,078 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 30,325 shares during the period. New South Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.08% of Ares Capital worth $11,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 92.6% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,889 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Capital by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARCC. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James downgraded Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ARCC opened at $22.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.84. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. The company has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.00.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.03). Ares Capital had a return on equity of 11.54% and a net margin of 50.90%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is 78.37%.

About Ares Capital

Ares Capital Corporation is a business development company specializing in acquisition, recapitalization, mezzanine debt, restructurings, rescue financing, and leveraged buyout transactions of middle market companies. It also makes growth capital and general refinancing. It prefers to make investments in companies engaged in the basic and growth manufacturing, business services, consumer products, health care products and services, and information technology service sectors.