Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 17 brokerages, with 13 recommending a buy and 4 suggesting a hold.
• The company's average 12-month price target from analysts is $182.73, reflecting optimism in potential stock growth.
• Ares recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.0% despite a high dividend payout ratio of 258.96%.

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $182.7333.

Several research analysts have commented on ARES shares. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ares Management from $189.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES opened at $150.73 on Friday. Ares Management has a one year low of $110.63 and a one year high of $200.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $179.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.17. The stock has a market cap of $49.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.13, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The asset manager reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 9.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 258.96%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 128,837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.30, for a total transaction of $22,971,637.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock worth $464,430,639 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 36.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Ares Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Ares Management by 3,262.5% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 269 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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