The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Price

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price objective reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $165.00 to $131.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 25.26% from the company’s previous close.

ARES has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Ares Management from $140.00 to $112.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group set a $148.00 price target on Ares Management in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 price target on Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.27.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $104.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $117.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.42. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $95.80 and a 52-week high of $195.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.88, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $3,699,801.62. The trade was a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARES. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,360 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 5,579 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Ares Management by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,197 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Ares Management by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,902 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Ares Management by 708.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 493 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Ares Management News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ares Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays lowered its price target to $127 from $138 but kept an “overweight” rating, still implying roughly a 21% upside from the cited $104.58 level. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cut its price target to $131 (from $165) but reiterated a “buy” rating, leaving an estimated ~25% upside from the $104.58 reference — a constructive signal from a major institutional analyst. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: investors purchased about 9,717 call options (≈48% above typical call volume), suggesting speculative or hedged bullish positioning in ARES. (No direct link provided in the briefing.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage note — The Globe and Mail reports Goldman Sachs is sticking to its buy rating for Ares, repeating the institutional endorsement but not changing the market view materially. Goldman Sachs Sticks to Their Buy Rating for Ares Management (ARES)
• Neutral Sentiment: General market coverage of Ares appeared on CNN’s markets page, which can increase visibility but doesn’t by itself change fundamentals. CNN Markets: Ares Management Corporation
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Ares from “hold” to “strong sell,” a sharp negative stance that could pressure sentiment among retail and some institutional investors. Zacks.com TickerReport

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.