Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $192.1429.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ARES shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ares Management from $188.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Ares Management from $175.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.1%

Ares Management stock opened at $175.85 on Friday. Ares Management has a 12-month low of $110.63 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.57 and a 200 day moving average of $168.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Ares Management had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th were issued a $0.8438 dividend. This represents a $3.38 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 192.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 186,197 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.75, for a total transaction of $28,441,591.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 290,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,449,791.75. This trade represents a 39.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 590,000 shares of company stock worth $90,653,808 in the last three months. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 3.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,676,470 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,465,851,000 after purchasing an additional 740,103 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,243,194 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $678,448,000 after buying an additional 15,913 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,534,773 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $565,180,000 after buying an additional 94,825 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $596,280,000 after acquiring an additional 244,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 2,586,253 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $413,516,000 after acquiring an additional 238,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Company Profile

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.