Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $180.38 and last traded at $179.05, with a volume of 79819 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $178.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ARES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.13.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 26,579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.66, for a total value of $3,791,760.14. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 75,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,699,500. This represents a 26.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.12, for a total transaction of $1,421,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 446,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,485,288.24. This trade represents a 2.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 602,357 shares of company stock valued at $97,672,269 over the last 90 days. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc bought a new position in Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 80.4% in the 2nd quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by 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.