Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates Outperform Rating for Ares Management (NYSE:ARES)

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $150.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target suggests a potential upside of 3.61% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $154.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.15.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES stock opened at $144.78 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $135.73 and its 200 day moving average is $125.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $44.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.92, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.17. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $81.88 and a twelve month high of $150.12.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 12.86%. The business had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $814.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total value of $9,917,567.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $182,833,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 157,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.22, for a total value of $23,394,600.14. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,163 shares in the company, valued at $13,660,399.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total value of $9,917,567.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,375,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,833,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,488,844 shares of company stock valued at $200,239,222. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ares Management by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 66.7% during the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 32,668 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,344,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is 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.