Focus Financial Network Inc. Sells 155,170 Shares of Ares Capital Corporation $ARCC

Key Points

• Focus Financial Network Inc. reduced its stake in Ares Capital Corporation by 91.9%, holding now 13,607 shares valued at $299,000 after selling 155,170 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Ares Capital reported a missed earnings estimate for the quarter with an EPS of $0.50, below the consensus estimate of $0.51, and total revenue of $614 million against an expected $748.76 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing an annualized yield of 8.9%, set to be paid on September 30th to shareholders of record.

Focus Financial Network Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC - Free Report) by 91.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,607 shares of the investment management company's stock after selling 155,170 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.'s holdings in Ares Capital were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prostatis Group LLC lifted its position in Ares Capital by 2.1% during the first quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 21,768 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.5% during the first quarter. BankPlus Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,809 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 3.1% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.2% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 47,935 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $1,062,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA increased its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 2.2% during the first quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 26,961 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of Ares Capital stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $20.94. 5,240,752 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,863,382. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.70. Ares Capital Corporation has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $23.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $614.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $748.76 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 44.94% and a return on equity of 10.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital Corporation will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is presently 93.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ARCC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Capital from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Thursday, July 31st. B. Riley raised shares of Ares Capital from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $22.50 to $23.50 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $23.00 price target on shares of Ares Capital and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.86.

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.