Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

ARES has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.33.

Ares Management Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $3.84 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $182.21. 960,890 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,131,738. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.03. The company has a market cap of $57.04 billion, a PE ratio of 83.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.18. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $112.83 and a twelve month high of $185.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 15,763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,636,204.12. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 214,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,820,968.36. The trade was a 6.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total transaction of $6,719,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 304,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,102,893.98. This trade represents a 11.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 614,167 shares of company stock valued at $106,716,247 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 21.0% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing 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.