Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ARES. Barclays upped their price objective on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ares Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $176.00 to $212.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.33.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $175.24 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.49. Ares Management has a 1-year low of $112.83 and a 1-year high of $185.06. The company has a market cap of $54.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.76, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 19,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.45, for a total transaction of $3,311,323.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 230,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,551,176.25. This represents a 7.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 20,048 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,356,837.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 229,952 shares in the company, valued at $38,503,162.88. This trade represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 614,167 shares of company stock worth $106,716,247. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 53.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $78,000. 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.