Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $159.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Ares Management from $216.00 to $161.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.00.

Ares Management Price Performance

Ares Management stock opened at $139.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $154.81 and a 200-day moving average of $168.54. 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 has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.78, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 183.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

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

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 678,549 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 42.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 435,103 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $67,807,000 after purchasing an additional 129,611 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,036,000. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ares Management by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,620 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,655,000 after buying an additional 3,715 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by 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.