Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Receives “Market Perform” Rating from JMP Securities

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reiterated by JMP Securities in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports.

ARES has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $190.36 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $183.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.35. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The company has a market capitalization of $59.59 billion, a PE ratio of 87.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.18. 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 Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. Analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at $223,916,778.46. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 253,214 shares in the company, valued at $44,312,450. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 555,838 shares of company stock worth $96,785,773. 41.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $923,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,138,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 10.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,762 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth $237,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $257,000. Hedge funds and other 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.