Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $166.36.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.10, for a total transaction of $2,261,649.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 156,241 shares in the company, valued at $22,514,328.10. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total value of $8,092,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at $64,276,239.48. The trade was a 11.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 530,453 shares of company stock valued at $78,577,065 in the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 21.0% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $167.50 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $52.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $160.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.01. Ares Management has a 52 week low of $105.89 and a 52 week high of $175.74.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

Ares Management Company Profile

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.