Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target Cut to $127.00 by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price target cut by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $131.00 to $127.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential downside of 10.84% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ARES. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $153.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $112.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ares Management has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.46.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $3.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $142.44. 1,467,546 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,044,332. The company has a market cap of $44.10 billion, a PE ratio of 63.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.32. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $80.07 and a twelve month high of $143.13.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $707.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.63% and a net margin of 12.86%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total value of $11,299,170.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,245,729 shares in the company, valued at $170,004,636.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 174,258 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.89, for a total transaction of $23,505,661.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 82,796 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.47, for a total transaction of $11,299,170.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,245,729 shares in the company, valued at $170,004,636.63. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,494,440 shares of company stock valued at $199,049,946 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 41.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 280 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 0.7% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 13,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,784,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Ares Management by 66.7% in the first quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Ares Management by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 429 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.