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

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 14,559 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 107% compared to the average daily volume of 7,021 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Capital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,426,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Capital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,159,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,145,706 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $309,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489,552 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,678,525 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $58,633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,268,547 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $93,439,000 after purchasing an additional 881,450 shares during the last quarter. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Capital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $21.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.92 and a 200-day moving average of $21.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Ares Capital has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $23.84.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last issued its 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ares Capital will post 2.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Capital Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.