Ares Capital: It's Tough To Justify A Buy (Archive)

Fading rate tailwinds, sector headwinds and limited valuation cushion make ARCC difficult to buy.

Ares Capital: It's Tough To Justify A Buy (Archive)

This 5-Minute Pitch was originally published on Seeking Alpha before the launch of the Hunting Alphas website. It is shared here to showcase my previous work and track record. New 5-Minute Pitches published on this site will not be disseminated anywhere else.

Elevator Pitch

  • Investment activity is yet to rebound materially. The Q2 FY23 improvement in gross commitments was small and not very broad-based.
  • The argument that rising rates would benefit Ares Capital's net investment income is fading, as the chances of another rate hike are low.
  • Sectoral headwinds on portfolio quality and degrading portfolio interest coverage metrics make me more cautious of Ares Capital's portfolio quality.
  • Valuations are near long-term averages, reducing the margin of safety required to justify a buy.
  • US M&A announcements is a key datapoint to watch as this would be a leading indicator of investment flows.

Read the full article here.

Disclosures and Disclaimers

Past performance ≠ future results. Not investment advice. See full Disclaimer.