Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $177.50.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Ares Management from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 33,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.12, for a total transaction of $5,472,902.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 107,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $17,344,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,876,000. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 873,145 shares of company stock valued at $146,204,353 in the last 90 days. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $381,365,000. TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4,557.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $230,981,000 after buying an additional 1,276,743 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after purchasing an additional 907,757 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,258,519,000 after purchasing an additional 807,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 394.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 766,267 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $135,652,000 after purchasing an additional 611,414 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $183.13 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $170.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.42. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $59.81 billion, a PE ratio of 107.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.37.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The asset manager reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.73% and a return on equity of 16.29%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 263.53%.

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.