Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Issues Earnings Results

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The asset manager reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.15, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $951.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $914.00 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share.

Ares Management Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $160.87 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Ares Management has a twelve month low of $110.63 and a twelve month high of $200.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.74 billion, a PE ratio of 79.25, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.66.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was 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 183.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com cut Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $217.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. This represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,438,000. This represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock worth $54,409,915. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.