TD Cowen Increases Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target to $171.00

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price target boosted by TD Cowen from $154.00 to $171.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. TD Cowen’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 18.11% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $153.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.15.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $144.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $44.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $135.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.41. Ares Management has a 1-year low of $81.88 and a 1-year high of $150.12.

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

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total value of $9,917,567.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares in the company, valued at $182,833,750. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 4,488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.01, for a total value of $601,436.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,263,750. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.97, for a total transaction 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 $182,833,750. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,488,844 shares of company stock worth $200,239,222. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $264,729,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth about $205,499,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,836,590 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $600,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,866 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $93,682,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 216.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,253,644 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $149,083,000 after buying an additional 857,245 shares during 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.