Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $172.13 and last traded at $172.13, with a volume of 98194 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $164.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $148.00 to $146.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.00.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.1 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $157.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.34. The firm has a market cap of $53.24 billion, a PE ratio of 77.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 20.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 171.43%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 27,068 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,942,995.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 222,932 shares in the company, valued at $32,474,504.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 27,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.67, for a total value of $3,942,995.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 222,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,474,504.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.99, for a total transaction of $6,719,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 304,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,102,893.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 622,640 shares of company stock worth $91,378,848 in the last quarter. 41.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. Hilton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.9% in the third quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 88,686 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,821,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 17,635 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,748,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 230,010 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,845,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1.6% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 30,774 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.