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

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 10,605 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 43% compared to the average volume of 7,423 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ares Capital from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a report on Monday, December 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ares Capital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.38.

Ares Capital Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:ARCC traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $17.66. 5,531,142 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,480,122. The company has a market capitalization of $12.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.95. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $17.40 and a twelve month high of $23.42.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. The company had revenue of $793.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $795.20 million. Ares Capital had a net margin of 42.56% and a return on equity of 9.89%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.9%. Ares Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Capital news, CEO Michael Kort Schnabel purchased 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.13 per share, with a total value of $239,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 40,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,765. This trade represents a 44.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott C. Lem bought 5,186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.29 per share, with a total value of $100,037.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $761,241.27. This trade represents a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 444.4% in the 3rd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,225 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Palladiem LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SWAN Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Capital during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in Ares Capital during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

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.