Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Buys Shares of 391,347 Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 391,347 shares of the investment management company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,052,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned 0.05% of Ares Capital as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SWAN Capital LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Core Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC opened at $18.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.56. 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 50-day simple moving average of $18.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.97. Ares Capital Corporation has a one year low of $17.40 and a one year high of $23.15.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The investment management company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 37.30% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $763.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $778.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Capital Corporation will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Ares Capital’s payout ratio is currently 117.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ARCC. B. Riley Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $19.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.60.

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.