Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Ares Management (NYSE:ARES)

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 71,530 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,691% compared to the average daily volume of 2,563 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ARES. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $175.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Ares Management from $188.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 56,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.26, for a total transaction of $8,846,975.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 590,000 shares of company stock worth $90,653,808 over the last quarter. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ares Management by 2.0% during the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 3,083 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 630 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in shares of Ares Management by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 4,576 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 9.1% in the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 746 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of ARES traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $173.67. 2,778,253 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,972,315. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $153.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.29. Ares Management has a 12 month low of $110.63 and a 12 month high of $200.49. The stock has a market cap of $56.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The asset manager reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 11.72%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 17th will be given a $0.8438 dividend. This represents a $3.38 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 192.27%.

About Ares Management

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.