Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,580,000 shares, a growth of 7.5% from the November 30th total of 3,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,280,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of ARES stock traded down $1.99 on Wednesday, hitting $177.03. The stock had a trading volume of 591,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,383. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $112.83 and a 52-week high of $185.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $173.95 and its 200-day moving average is $156.42.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total value of $2,646,573.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,802,571.96. The trade was a 6.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total value of $2,586,557.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 233,214 shares in the company, valued at $42,015,834.24. This trade represents a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 634,167 shares of company stock valued at $109,917,647. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 57.5% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 11,471 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 4,189 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 35.3% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,570 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,797 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,882 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 83.4% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,356 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Ares Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.33.

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.