Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on ARES. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ares Management from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $176.00 to $212.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.33.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES opened at $176.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $171.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.81. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $112.83 and a 1 year high of $185.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total value of $3,201,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 344,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,096,414.14. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total value of $20,599,471.54. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 634,167 shares of company stock valued at $109,917,647. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Ares Management by 1.4% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.