Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Now Covered by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a market perform rating and a $156.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.81.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:ARES opened at $152.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a PE ratio of 88.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $179.18 and a 200-day moving average of $167.22. Ares Management has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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). The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 15.81%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.99 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 258.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 128,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.30, for a total value of $22,971,637.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock valued at $464,430,639 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in Ares Management by 114,500.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,146 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Fjell Capital LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 19.6% in the first quarter. Fjell Capital LLC now owns 7,155 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares during the period. Affinity Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 2.7% in the first quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,200 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 10.6% in the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,628 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,820 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.