Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $197.64 and last traded at $197.41, with a volume of 244865 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $193.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ARES. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.08.

Ares Management Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $182.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.05. The stock has a market cap of $62.05 billion, a PE ratio of 91.33, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 253,214 shares in the company, valued at $44,312,450. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 574,167 shares of company stock worth $99,996,647 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in 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. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. 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.