Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) PT Lowered to $150.00 at Barclays

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price target lowered by Barclays from $153.00 to $150.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ARES. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Ares Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $122.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $125.92.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $131.91 on Friday. Ares Management has a 52 week low of $77.97 and a 52 week high of $139.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.74. The firm has a market cap of $40.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.63%. The firm had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $814.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total value of $5,154,680.90. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,727,419.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total value of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 96,085 shares in the company, valued at $12,727,419.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 80,637 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.25, for a total value of $10,906,154.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,116,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,030,429. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter worth $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management in the first quarter worth $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 73.9% during the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 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.