Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Friday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $221.00 to $201.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ares Management traded as low as $116.41 and last traded at $115.17, with a volume of 731902 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $130.59.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its position in Ares Management by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 10.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $37.07 billion, a PE ratio of 57.90, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $166.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

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.