Oppenheimer Cuts Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Price Target to $147.00

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price target cut by Oppenheimer from $215.00 to $147.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the asset manager’s stock.

ARES has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wolfe Research set a $210.00 price target on shares of Ares Management and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.73.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES opened at $119.22 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $113.84 and a 200-day moving average of $142.23. The company has a market capitalization of $39.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.55, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.52. Ares Management has a 1-year low of $95.80 and a 1-year high of $195.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 9.41%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 319.53%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ares Management by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,210,530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,955 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $396,165,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,489,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $883,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,460 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Ares Management by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $922,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,174 shares during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ares Management by 40,652.1% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 807,300 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $130,484,000 after purchasing an additional 805,319 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ares Management

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.