Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $141.42.

ARES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $156.66 on Monday. Ares Management has a fifty-two week low of $96.00 and a fifty-two week high of $157.53. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at $64,276,239.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,958,145.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 222,828 shares in the company, valued at $32,459,354.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total value of $8,092,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 604,316 shares of company stock worth $87,718,000. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Curated Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 199.7% during the second quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,658,217 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $221,007,000 after buying an additional 3,321,434 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $264,729,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,058,394 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $674,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,933 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,884,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 722.6% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,738,148 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $231,660,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,856 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently 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.