Critical Contrast: Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) & Jupiter Fund Management (OTCMKTS:JFHHF)

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) and Jupiter Fund Management (OTCMKTS:JFHHF) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Ares Management and Jupiter Fund Management, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ares Management	0	5	13	0	2.72
Jupiter Fund Management	1	2	0	0	1.67

Ares Management currently has a consensus price target of $189.33, indicating a potential upside of 44.82%. Given Ares Management’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Ares Management is more favorable than Jupiter Fund Management.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

50.0% of Ares Management shares are owned by institutional investors. 36.9% of Ares Management shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ares Management and Jupiter Fund Management”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ares Management	$5.60 billion	7.63	$463.74 million	$2.33	56.11
Jupiter Fund Management	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Ares Management has higher revenue and earnings than Jupiter Fund Management.

Volatility and Risk

Ares Management has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Jupiter Fund Management has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ares Management and Jupiter Fund Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ares Management	9.41%	19.26%	4.89%
Jupiter Fund Management	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Ares Management beats Jupiter Fund Management on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Its Direct Lending Group segment provides financing solutions to small-to-medium sized companies. The company's Private Equity Group segment focuses on majority or shared-control investments primarily in under-capitalized companies. Its Real Estate Group segment invests in new developments and the repositioning of assets, with a focus on control or majority-control investments; and originates and invests in a range of self-originated financing opportunities for middle-market owners and operators of commercial real estate. The firm was previously known as Ares Management, L.P. Ares Management Corporation was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Ares Management GP LLC is the general partner of the company.

About Jupiter Fund Management

Jupiter Fund Management Plc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm manages mutual funds, hedge funds, client focused portfolios, and multi-manager products for its clients. It invests in the public equity markets across U.K., Europe and global emerging markets. The firm also invests in fixed income markets, fund of funds products, hedge funds, and absolute return funds. Jupiter Fund Management Plc was founded in 1985 and is based in London, United Kingdom.