Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Sets New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $221.00 to $201.00. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ares Management traded as low as $116.41 and last traded at $115.17, with a volume of 731902 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $130.59.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915 over the last three months. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 104.8% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ares Management Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $166.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price 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. The firm has a market cap of $37.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.90, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

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.