Analysts Set Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Price Target at $166.36

Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $166.36.

A number of research firms have commented on ARES. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $168.94 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.42. Ares Management has a 12 month low of $101.44 and a 12 month high of $175.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.20.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 10,223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.47, for a total transaction of $1,476,916.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 191,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,672,650.62. This represents a 5.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $292,425.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 253,214 shares in the company, valued at $44,312,450. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 561,280 shares of company stock worth $83,030,436. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 717.6% during the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 278 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 40.0% in the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.