Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.05, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 9.47%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS.

Ares Management Price Performance

Shares of ARES traded down $2.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $150.95. 113,386 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,702,226. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ares Management has a fifty-two week low of $110.63 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The company has a market cap of $49.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $162.72 and its 200 day moving average is $168.89.

Ares Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.8438 per share. This represents a $3.38 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 258.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In related news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 128,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.30, for a total transaction of $22,971,637.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,590,000 shares of company stock worth $464,430,639. 36.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth $291,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth $525,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth $359,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,201 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Ares Management by 3,250.7% in the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 70,030 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $12,129,000 after purchasing an additional 67,940 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays dropped their price target on Ares Management from $200.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cfra Research upgraded Ares Management to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on Ares Management from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $190.00 price objective on Ares Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $184.79.

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.