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

Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $172.33.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ARES shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ares Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $176.00 to $212.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:ARES opened at $177.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $55.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $112.83 and a twelve month high of $185.06.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during 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 company earned $0.83 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,495,125.76. This trade represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,015,834.24. This represents a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 634,167 shares of company stock valued at $109,917,647. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $87,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $93,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.