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

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.42.

ARES has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Ares Management in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total transaction of $3,958,145.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 222,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,459,354.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 27,172 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,958,145.24. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 222,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,459,354.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 41,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.21, for a total value of $6,260,151.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,075,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $161,475,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 604,316 shares of company stock worth $87,718,000 in the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 385,222 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $45,812,000 after acquiring an additional 12,271 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Ares Management by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 384,546 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $45,730,000 after buying an additional 33,634 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 357,667 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $42,534,000 after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 10,144 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,938 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of ARES opened at $156.66 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.21. Ares Management has a 12 month low of $96.00 and a 12 month high of $157.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $145.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.32.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 166.82%.

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.