BMO Capital Markets Cuts Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target to $112.00

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price objective trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $140.00 to $112.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

ARES has been the subject of a number of other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $182.00 to $155.00 in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $178.00 price objective on Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Ares Management from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group set a $148.00 target price on Ares Management in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.73.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $107.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $127.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.38. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $95.80 and a twelve month high of $195.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $35.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.87, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.55.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 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 business 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 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 319.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $126.61 per share, for a total transaction of $1,266,100.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 34,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,313,729.31. The trade was a 41.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy D. Olian purchased 480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,699,801.62. This represents a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 36.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Ares Management by 100.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 190 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Company Profile

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.