Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $159.18.

ARES has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ares Management from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ares Management from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Ares Management from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $170.83 on Friday. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $96.00 and a twelve month high of $171.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $152.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.69. The company has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a PE ratio of 76.61, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. The business had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $860.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 166.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.12, for a total value of $1,421,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 446,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,485,288.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.12, for a total transaction of $1,421,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 446,702 shares in the company, valued at $63,485,288.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 27,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,950,570.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 222,880 shares in the company, valued at $32,466,929.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 622,640 shares of company stock worth $91,378,848. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its position in Ares Management by 0.7% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 13,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% in the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 10.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.