Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,490,000 shares, an increase of 35.2% from the March 15th total of 4,060,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,482,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Citizens Jmp raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.00.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.3 %

ARES stock opened at $141.35 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.49. Ares Management has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49.

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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. 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.