Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Price

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $187.00 to $156.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.90% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JMP Securities upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Citizens Jmp raised 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.80.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ARES traded down $1.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $122.94. 4,718,920 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,343,560. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $165.27 and a 200 day moving average of $170.11. The stock has a market cap of $38.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. On average, research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 31.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $444,103,000 after buying an additional 678,549 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $460,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,798,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Ares Management by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,562,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.