Ares Capital Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:ARCC)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC – Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 14,559 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 107% compared to the average daily volume of 7,021 put options.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

ARCC stock traded down $0.58 during midday 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. Ares Capital has a 52-week low of $19.32 and a 52-week high of $23.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.92 and its 200 day moving average is $21.89.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The investment management company reported $0.55 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.78%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $519,000. Round Rock Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Capital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,512,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 507,374 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $11,208,000 after acquiring an additional 25,347 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Capital by 24.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 650,163 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $13,900,000 after purchasing an additional 127,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Ares Capital by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 885,406 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $18,540,000 after purchasing an additional 38,559 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ARCC shares. Raymond James cut shares of Ares Capital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Capital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.94.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Ares Capital

About Ares Capital

(Get Free Report)

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.

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