Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Ares an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from 18 analysts (1 sell, 4 hold, 12 buy, 1 strong buy) with a mean 1‑year target of $168.73.
• Ares raised its quarterly dividend to $1.35 (annualized $5.40) for a 4.5% yield, though the payout ratio is very high at 319.53%.
• The firm missed quarterly EPS ($1.45 vs. $1.71 est.) but beat revenue ($1.50B vs. $1.38B); the stock trades near $118.73 with a $39.1B market cap and a P/E of 70.26.

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $168.7333.

ARES has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Ares Management from $138.00 to $127.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Ares Management from $140.00 to $112.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wolfe Research set a $210.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Ares Management from $215.00 to $147.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $118.73 on Tuesday. Ares Management has a 12-month low of $95.80 and a 12-month high of $195.26. The company has a market cap of $39.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $113.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.29.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management's payout ratio is 319.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Ares Management news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 34,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. The trade was a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $124.43 per share, with a total value of $59,726.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 29,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,699,801.62. This represents a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,210,530,000 after acquiring an additional 4,373,955 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $396,165,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,489,004 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $883,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,963,460 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $922,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 40,652.1% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 807,300 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $130,484,000 after acquiring an additional 805,319 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation NYSE: ARES is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.

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