Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target Cut to $150.00

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from $153.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Ares Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $122.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ares Management from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $125.92.

Ares Management Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of ARES stock opened at $136.17 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $133.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.96. Ares Management has a 12-month low of $80.07 and a 12-month high of $139.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $42.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.17.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.63% and a net margin of 12.86%. The firm had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 166.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 4,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.01, for a total value of $601,436.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,263,750. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.72, for a total value of $6,486,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 4,488 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.01, for a total transaction of $601,436.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,263,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock worth $199,049,946 over the last three months. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Hollencrest Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 73.9% during the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.