Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) PT Raised to $160.00

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its target price increased by investment analysts at UBS Group from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 21.81% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ARES. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Ares Management from $157.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.17.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $131.35 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.90. Ares Management has a one year low of $77.97 and a one year high of $139.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.96, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.17.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The asset manager reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.11. Ares Management had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $862.71 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total transaction of $9,917,567.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,833,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total transaction of $11,299,170.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,245,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,004,636.63. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total value of $9,917,567.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,833,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,300,871 shares of company stock valued at $173,683,187. 47.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.