Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

ARES has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ares Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $176.00 to $212.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.33.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $182.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $175.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.20. Ares Management has a fifty-two week low of $112.83 and a fifty-two week high of $185.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.18.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total transaction of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,495,125.76. The trade was a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.16, for a total transaction of $2,586,557.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 233,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,015,834.24. The trade was a 5.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 614,167 shares of company stock valued at $106,716,247. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 27,370 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,875 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 8.2% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 61,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $8,186,000 after acquiring an additional 4,629 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth $290,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $78,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.