CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Invests $9.92 Million in Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 485,972 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,919,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ARCC. City Holding Co. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 444.4% during the third quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 201.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,764 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on ARCC shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Ares Capital from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.38.

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ ARCC opened at $17.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.66 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 one year low of $17.59 and a one year high of $23.42. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $19.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.13.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released 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 company had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. Ares Capital’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is 103.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Scott C. Lem acquired 5,186 shares of Ares Capital stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares in the company, valued at $761,241.27. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel bought 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ares Capital Company 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.