StockNews.com Downgrades Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) to Sell

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.33.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of Ares Management stock traded up $3.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $182.21. 960,890 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,131,738. The business has a fifty day moving average of $174.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.03. The company has a market capitalization of $57.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 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 has a 1 year low of $112.83 and a 1 year high of $185.06.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,495,125.76. This represents a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,015,834.24. This represents a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 614,167 shares of company stock worth $106,716,247 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Ares Management by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 17,008 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,220 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 15,118 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,686,000 after buying an additional 1,936 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $749,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ares Management by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 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.