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

Ares Capital Corporation (NASDAQ:ARCC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors purchased 12,604 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 173% compared to the average volume of 4,618 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ARCC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ares Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 19th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ares Capital from $22.50 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.25.

Institutional Trading of Ares Capital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARCC. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Capital by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. now owns 28,983 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Prostatis Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 2.1% in the second quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 22,236 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Capital by 5.5% in the second quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 0.8% during the second quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 65,514 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ares Capital by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 32,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $19.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $13.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.93. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $23.83.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The investment management company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50. Ares Capital had a net margin of 45.16% and a return on equity of 10.08%. The business had revenue of $793.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $795.20 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.