Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Raised to “Outperform” at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was upgraded by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Finviz reports. The firm presently has a $202.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock, up from their previous target price of $166.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.07% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ares Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $176.00 to $212.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.33.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $171.08 on Friday. Ares Management has a 12 month low of $112.83 and a 12 month high of $185.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.84, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $171.57 and a 200-day moving average of $153.55.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total value of $20,599,471.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $223,916,778.46. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 20,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total value of $3,201,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 344,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,096,414.14. This trade represents a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 634,167 shares of company stock valued at $109,917,647. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. &PARTNERS lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 97.7% during the second quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 4,250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 16.2% during the second quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,874 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Overbrook Management Corp lifted its position in Ares Management by 3.2% during the second quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 94,241 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,560,000 after purchasing an additional 2,924 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 4.7% in the second quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 125,895 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $16,779,000 after purchasing an additional 5,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OmniStar Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. OmniStar Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,927 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.