Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $207.00 to $215.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.94% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ARES. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.7 %

ARES opened at $190.36 on Thursday. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $125.23 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The firm has a market cap of $59.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.72, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $183.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 20,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,356,837.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 229,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,503,162.88. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 555,838 shares of company stock worth $96,785,773. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,195,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $106,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,476 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,404 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after acquiring an additional 679,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 134.1% in the 4th quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.