Ares Management’s (ARES) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their outperform rating on shares of Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $150.00 price objective on the asset manager’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ARES. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ares Management from $119.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ares Management from $153.00 to $150.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $130.15.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.9 %

ARES opened at $146.01 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $45.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.48, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.17. Ares Management has a 12 month low of $82.89 and a 12 month high of $150.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $136.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.85.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $707.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.86% and a return on equity of 21.22%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 166.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total value of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 74,585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,375,000 shares in the company, valued at $182,833,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 38,915 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.46, for a total transaction of $5,154,680.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 96,085 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,727,419.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,488,844 shares of company stock valued at $200,239,222. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ares Management by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,599,345 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,207,381,000 after purchasing an additional 206,996 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,836,590 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $600,410,000 after buying an additional 1,255,866 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,872,559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $460,525,000 after buying an additional 71,819 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ares Management by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,644,429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $272,033,000 after acquiring an additional 78,781 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 1st quarter worth $264,729,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.