Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $130.29.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ARES. Barclays cut their price objective on Ares Management from $153.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $176.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.1 %

Ares Management stock opened at $132.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Ares Management has a fifty-two week low of $90.29 and a fifty-two week high of $150.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $137.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.93.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 166.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 22,103 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.86, for a total value of $2,892,398.58. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 73,982 shares in the company, valued at $9,681,284.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.72, for a total value of $6,486,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 22,103 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.86, for a total value of $2,892,398.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 73,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,681,284.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,564,673 shares of company stock worth $211,998,778 over the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 13,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its position in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 32,668 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,344,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.