Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $169.64.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE:ARES opened at $171.08 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $171.57 and a 200 day moving average of $153.55. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $53.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $112.83 and a 52-week high of $185.06.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total value of $3,201,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 344,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,096,414.14. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 634,167 shares of company stock valued at $109,917,647. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after buying an additional 36,476 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $900,000. Finally, BNP Paribas increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 40,342 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $6,319,000 after purchasing an additional 4,643 shares during 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.