Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Raised to Market Outperform at JMP Securities

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was upgraded by investment analysts at JMP Securities from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $165.00 target price on the asset manager’s stock. JMP Securities’ price objective points to a potential upside of 32.09% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citizens Jmp raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.87.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $124.91. 2,587,189 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,695,474. The company has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a PE ratio of 61.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.11.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 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, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David B. Kaplan sold 69,526 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.99, for a total value of $11,192,990.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,474 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,009.26. This represents a 69.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth about $381,365,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,858,000. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 4,557.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,304,759 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $230,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,276,743 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,807,718 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,329,530,000 after acquiring an additional 907,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,109,070 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,258,519,000 after acquiring an additional 807,361 shares during 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.