Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $193.00 to $203.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.98% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research set a $193.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.56.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $187.99 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.66, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $175.07 and a 200 day moving average of $166.68. Ares Management has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week 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.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 9.47%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 85,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.79, for a total transaction of $14,347,150.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 62,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.36, for a total transaction of $10,585,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 62,500 shares in the company, valued at $10,585,000. This trade represents a 50.00% 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 ninety days. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 3,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,576 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.1% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 746 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Cigna Investments Inc. New boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 3.4% in the second quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 1,890 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.