Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $192.02 and last traded at $193.30, with a volume of 1141 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $191.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $212.00 to $207.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.92.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $60.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $161.28.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 171.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 15,825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.24, for a total value of $2,646,573.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 214,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,802,571.96. The trade was a 6.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 253,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,312,450. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 574,167 shares of company stock valued at $99,996,647. Company insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Ares Management by 67.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 21.0% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.