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

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $176.17.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ARES shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $186.75 on Thursday. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $125.23 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $185.09 and its 200 day moving average is $167.80. 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 earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 18,389 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.54, for a total value of $3,228,005.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 114,967 shares in the company, valued at $20,181,307.18. The trade was a 13.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 18,232 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.54, for a total transaction of $3,200,445.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 116,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,397,923.54. This trade represents a 13.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 447,080 shares of company stock worth $80,060,323. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Ares Management by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ares Management by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.