Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $197.64 and last traded at $197.41, with a volume of 244865 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $193.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ARES shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $224.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.08.

Ares Management Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $61.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.15, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $181.11 and a 200-day moving average of $163.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.43%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 115,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.83, for a total transaction of $20,599,471.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,259,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $223,916,778.46. The trade was a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 20,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,356,837.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 229,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,503,162.88. This represents a 8.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 574,167 shares of company stock worth $99,996,647. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 227 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 1,572.7% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. 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.