Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $169.64.

Several brokerages have commented on ARES. UBS Group upped their price target on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ares Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $176.00 to $212.00 in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at $223,916,778.46. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.42, for a total transaction of $1,855,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 414,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,475,860.84. The trade was a 2.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 659,167 shares of company stock valued at $113,702,897. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter worth $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the second quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 80.4% in 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. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $182.39 on Friday. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $112.83 and a 1 year high of $185.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.10 billion, a PE ratio of 84.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

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.