Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ARES. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.33.

Ares Management Stock Up 2.9 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $176.04 on Thursday. Ares Management has a 52 week low of $112.83 and a 52 week high of $185.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $171.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm 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. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total value of $20,599,471.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was 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 represents a 5.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 634,167 shares of company stock worth $109,917,647. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the second quarter valued at $53,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.