Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Upgraded by Raymond James Financial to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was upgraded by Raymond James Financial from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday. The brokerage currently has a $157.00 price target on the asset manager’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s price target suggests a potential upside of 20.09% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on ARES. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ares Management from $222.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 target price on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $210.00 price target on Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.31.

Ares Management Stock Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $130.74 on Monday. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $110.63 and a 52-week high of $195.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $162.98 and a 200-day moving average of $165.12. The company has a market capitalization of $42.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share 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 19.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 56,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.26, for a total value of $8,846,975.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 590,000 shares of company stock valued at $90,653,808 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ares Management by 20.2% during the 4th 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position 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 worth $922,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187,174 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,243,194 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $678,448,000 after purchasing an additional 15,913 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $620,616,000 after purchasing an additional 304,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 7.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,454,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $596,280,000 after purchasing an additional 244,286 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.