Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Short Interest Update

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,200,000 shares, an increase of 9.1% from the July 31st total of 3,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $146.40 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $142.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.08. Ares Management has a 1-year low of $96.00 and a 1-year high of $155.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. The firm had revenue of $788.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 13,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.12, for a total transaction of $1,963,908.96. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 136,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,804,091.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 13,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.12, for a total transaction of $1,963,908.96. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 136,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,804,091.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total transaction of $16,492,500.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 688,653 shares of company stock valued at $96,639,724. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 13,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% during the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 10.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 7.2% during the second quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the first quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 32,668 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,344,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.92.

Ares Management Company Profile

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.