Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

ARES has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group set a $148.00 price objective on Ares Management in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 price objective on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $140.00 to $112.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Ares Management from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One equities research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $177.47.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $102.09 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $118.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.70. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $95.80 and a 52-week high of $195.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.41, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) 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 return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 9.41%.The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 29,734 shares in the company, valued at $3,699,801.62. The trade was a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 36.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 8,329 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in Ares Management by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 4,321 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 1,466 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,921 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 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.