Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

ARES has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.64.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $182.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $57.18 billion, a PE ratio of 83.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.19. Ares Management has a 12 month low of $112.03 and a 12 month high of $184.47. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.17. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm posted $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total transaction of $2,646,573.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 214,079 shares in the company, valued at $35,802,571.96. This trade represents a 6.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.40, for a total value of $1,930,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 376,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,162,788.80. The trade was a 3.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 644,810 shares of company stock valued at $111,116,340. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARES. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 21.0% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.