Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target Cut to $201.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price target dropped by Bank of America from $221.00 to $201.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target points to a potential upside of 71.00% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ARES. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays decreased their target price on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.38.

Ares Management Trading Down 10.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES opened at $117.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.07 billion, a PE ratio of 57.90, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management has a 12-month low of $113.24 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $166.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,849,737 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $444,103,000 after purchasing an additional 678,549 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 0.7% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Ares Management by 3.7% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,064 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Ares Management during the third quarter worth about $460,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 51.8% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 6,151 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.