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

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 27,969 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 370% compared to the average volume of 5,947 put options.

Ares Capital Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ARCC opened at $23.18 on Thursday. Ares Capital has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $23.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a PE ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.21 and a 200 day moving average of $21.41.

Ares Capital (NASDAQ:ARCC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The investment management company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.01). Ares Capital had a net margin of 53.71% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $755.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.45 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Capital will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Horizon Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Ares Capital during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Ares Capital by 56.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,510 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in Ares Capital by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Ares Capital in the third quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 82.2% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 2,003 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 27.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ares Capital from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Capital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Capital from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.43.

Ares Capital Company Profile

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.