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

Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $176.17.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ARES. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target 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.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This represents a 2.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 214,571 shares of company stock worth $39,165,379 over the last three months. 41.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 104.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.8 %

ARES stock opened at $168.75 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $184.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.15. Ares Management has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The firm has a market cap of $52.83 billion, a PE ratio of 83.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

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.