Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays cut its target price for Ares Management to $127 from $138 while maintaining an "overweight" rating, a target that implies roughly 23.7% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views are mixed — Goldman trimmed its target to $131, Wolfe Research pegs it at $210, and Zacks downgraded to "strong sell" — yet the consensus remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $173.27.
• Ares missed quarterly EPS ($1.45 vs. $1.71) despite beating revenue estimates, and the stock trades near $102.70 well below analyst targets, even as directors recently bought shares (disclosed insider purchases).

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Barclays from $138.00 to $127.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the asset manager's stock. Barclays's price target points to a potential upside of 23.66% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on ARES. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $165.00 to $131.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research set a $210.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research cut Ares Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $173.27.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES traded up $0.46 on Wednesday, reaching $102.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,389,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,753,411. The stock has a market cap of $33.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.52. Ares Management has a 12-month low of $95.80 and a 12-month high of $195.26. The business's 50-day moving average price is $118.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.71 by ($0.26). Ares Management had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 19.04%. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $126.61 per share, with a total value of $1,266,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 34,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,313,729.31. This represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy D. Olian purchased 480 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director 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. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,210,530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,955 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $922,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,174 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 55.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,963,460 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,257,710 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $688,176,000 after purchasing an additional 14,516 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ares Management by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,839,693 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $620,616,000 after buying an additional 304,920 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

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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