StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Ares Management (NYSE:ARES)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday. The firm issued a sell rating on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $81.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ares Management from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Barclays increased their target price on Ares Management from $87.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ares Management from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $86.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Ares Management Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $75.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $22.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.34. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $53.15 and a 52-week high of $87.50. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.83.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The asset manager reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $937.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $813.69 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 5.48% and a return on equity of 16.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 4.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 287.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, major shareholder Ares Management Llc purchased 250,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.85 per share, with a total value of $5,962,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,623,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,630,587.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Ares Management Llc purchased 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.85 per share, for a total transaction of $5,962,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 35,623,924 shares in the company, valued at $849,630,587.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Corporate Opportunities F. Ares sold 4,770,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.06, for a total value of $124,306,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,326,090 shares in the company, valued at $373,337,905.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 4,079,594 shares of company stock valued at $15,785,132 and sold 5,121,973 shares valued at $154,478,492. Corporate insiders own 47.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 300.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 400 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 951.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 515 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 2,395.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 574 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.96% of the company’s stock.

About Ares Management

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Ares Management Corp. is engaged in providing investment management and consultancy services. It operates through the following segments: Credit Group, Private Equity Group and Real Estate Group. The Credit Group segment offers credit strategies across the liquid and illiquid spectrum, including syndicated bank loans, high yield bonds, credit opportunities, special situations, asset-backed investments and U.S.