Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Rating Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $202.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $166.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.75% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.33.

Ares Management Stock Up 2.9 %

ARES opened at $176.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $55.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.12, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. Ares Management has a one year low of $112.83 and a one year high of $185.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $171.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.94.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total value of $6,719,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 304,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,102,893.98. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 634,167 shares of company stock valued at $109,917,647 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake 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 during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,187,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.