Analysts Set Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Target Price at $159.73

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $159.7333.

ARES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $153.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ares Management from $162.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Friday, August 21st.

Ares Management Price Performance

NYSE ARES opened at $142.42 on Monday. Ares Management has a one year low of $95.80 and a one year high of $186.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $128.29 and a 200 day moving average of $121.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.33, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The asset manager reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 247.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 1,033.1% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 28,272 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,570,000 after purchasing an additional 25,777 shares during the period. Osprey Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Osprey Private Wealth LLC now owns 64,530 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,430,000 after buying an additional 13,165 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ares Management by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $4,210,530,000 after buying an additional 4,373,955 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 169.3% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 26,526 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,287,000 after buying an additional 16,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $9,350,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.