Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Hits New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $221.00 to $201.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ares Management traded as low as $116.41 and last traded at $115.17, with a volume of 731902 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $130.59.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ARES. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,404 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $126,622,000 after acquiring an additional 32,273 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Ares Management by 134.1% in the 4th quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Stock Down 11.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $36.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $168.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.31.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is presently 183.25%.

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.