Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Short Interest Update

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,390,000 shares, a decline of 13.1% from the October 31st total of 3,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ARES shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen increased their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total transaction of $10,728,750.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at $64,276,239.48. The trade was a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 666,030 shares of company stock worth $109,779,010 in the last quarter. 41.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 192,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,674,000 after acquiring an additional 38,047 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ares Management by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $106,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,476 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Ares Management by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 82,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,000,000 after acquiring an additional 26,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $696,000. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ARES traded up $1.10 on Tuesday, reaching $175.05. 833,122 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,157,280. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $166.32 and its 200-day moving average is $150.62. 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 has a 1-year low of $107.69 and a 1-year high of $180.38.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

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.