Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $212.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $176.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.23% from the company’s previous close.

ARES has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays raised their target price on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.64.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $182.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $57.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $169.68 and its 200 day moving average is $152.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Ares Management has a fifty-two week low of $112.83 and a fifty-two week high of $185.06.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.42, for a total value of $1,855,250.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 414,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,475,860.84. The trade was a 2.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 659,167 shares of company stock valued at $113,702,897. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

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