Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Price Down 7.1% – Here’s Why

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)’s share price dropped 7.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $156.44 and last traded at $157.63. Approximately 914,425 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 1,166,112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ares Management from $207.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Ares Management Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $50.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $184.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.90.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $1.12 dividend. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 5,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.14, for a total value of $980,502.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 247,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,633,467.94. This represents a 2.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 214,571 shares of company stock valued at $39,165,379. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 2.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,279 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Ares Management by 62.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,683 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Ares Management by 4.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,727 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 22.8% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,606 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.