Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Receives $176.17 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $173.83.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ARES. Barclays dropped their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $147.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $175.33 and its 200-day moving average is $169.86.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. Equities research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock valued at $37,431,786 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 104.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Ares Management in the third quarter worth $36,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ares Management

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.