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

New South Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 517,078 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 30,325 shares during the quarter. New South Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $11,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ARCC. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 11.2% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 93,882 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after buying an additional 9,428 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.8% in the third quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 114,784 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after buying an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at $614,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 9.7% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 82,970 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 7,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baugh & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 1.2% in the third quarter. Baugh & Associates LLC now owns 236,338 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,767,000 after buying an additional 2,799 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $22.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.00. Ares Capital Co. has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $23.84. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 50.90% and a return on equity of 11.54%. Equities analysts predict that Ares Capital Co. will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.