BMO Capital Markets Upgrades Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) to "Hold"

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has upgraded Ares Management (NYSE: ARES) to a "hold" rating, highlighting a cautious outlook amid varying analyst sentiments.
• Thirteen analysts currently rate Ares Management as a Buy, while six have given it a "Hold," indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of approximately $180.81.
• Ares Management reported earnings of $1.03 per share for the latest quarter, falling short of expectations, although it exceeded revenue estimates with $1.35 billion.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ares Management from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $180.81.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $152.31 on Thursday. Ares Management has a 1 year low of $110.63 and a 1 year high of $200.49. The business's fifty day moving average is $179.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 196,197 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.79, for a total transaction of $35,078,061.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 1,424,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $254,693,149.02. This trade represents a 12.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 136,516 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total value of $24,946,933.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 311,728 shares in the company, valued at $56,965,174.72. This trade represents a 30.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock worth $464,430,639 over the last ninety days. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its stake in Ares Management by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 2.0% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 3,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ares Management by 10.3% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 630 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,576 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $793,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 746 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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