Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

ARES has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays upped their target price on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.33.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES stock opened at $182.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.20. Ares Management has a 52 week low of $112.83 and a 52 week high of $185.06. The stock has a market cap of $57.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 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.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 18,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total transaction of $3,210,874.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 254,885 shares in the company, valued at $44,650,754.30. This represents a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 15,763 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,636,204.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 214,189 shares in the company, valued at $35,820,968.36. This represents a 6.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 614,167 shares of company stock valued at $106,716,247. Insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter worth $36,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.