Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $110.59 and last traded at $111.3380, with a volume of 1172228 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $118.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ARES. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $222.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $182.00 to $155.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $189.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $148.00 target price on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.67.

Ares Management Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $36.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $150.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 265.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $126.61 per share, with a total value of $1,266,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. This represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 56,257 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.26, for a total transaction of $8,846,975.82. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 36.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.0% during the second 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 last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 10.3% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 630 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 4.0% in the second quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 0.8% during the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 8,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,284,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.