Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Announces Earnings Results

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12), Zacks reports. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%.

Ares Management Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE ARES traded down $5.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $189.85. 985,438 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,010,157. The company’s 50-day moving average is $182.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.99. Ares Management has a one year low of $124.11 and a one year high of $200.49. The company has a market capitalization of $59.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 19,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.45, for a total value of $3,311,323.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 230,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,551,176.25. This represents a 7.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 555,838 shares of company stock valued at $96,785,773 in the last quarter. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ARES. UBS Group raised their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $224.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.08.

About Ares Management

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.