Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $165.40.

ARES has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 104.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $141.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.59 billion, a PE ratio of 69.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $155.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.74. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

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.