Ares Capital Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 14,559 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 107% compared to the typical volume of 7,021 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARCC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Ares Capital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James lowered Ares Capital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Capital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.94.

Remove Ads

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARCC. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.38% of the company's stock.

Ares Capital Trading Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ:ARCC traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.87. 3,761,722 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,656,135. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Ares Capital's payout ratio is 78.37%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.