Short Interest in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Increases By 35.2%

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,490,000 shares, a growth of 35.2% from the March 15th total of 4,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,482,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Ares Management by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARES has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $159.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “market outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.00.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock opened at $141.35 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.34. Ares Management has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. Analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $1.12 dividend. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.25%.

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.