Traders Buy High Volume of Ares Capital Put Options (NASDAQ:ARCC)

Ares Capital Co. (NASDAQ:ARCC) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 27,969 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 370% compared to the average volume of 5,947 put options.

Ares Capital Stock Performance

Shares of ARCC traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $23.25. 4,079,716 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,019,696. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.40. Ares Capital has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $23.56.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 127,219 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 885,406 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $18,540,000 after buying an additional 38,559 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Ares Capital by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 2,211,955 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $48,419,000 after purchasing an additional 531,305 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company grew its position in shares of Ares Capital by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 354,237 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $7,754,000 after buying an additional 35,659 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Capital by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 3,836,573 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $80,338,000 after buying an additional 63,999 shares during the period. 27.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.