Short Interest in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Expands By 22.6%

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,420,000 shares, an increase of 22.6% from the May 31st total of 2,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Ares Management stock traded down $0.75 on Tuesday, reaching $135.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 786,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,951. The company has a market capitalization of $41.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.15. Ares Management has a 52 week low of $92.95 and a 52 week high of $150.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.88 million. Ares Management had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 12.86%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 166.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Ares Management from $154.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Ares Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $176.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ares Management from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on Ares Management from $153.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 175,152 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.56, for a total value of $23,393,301.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ares Management news, Chairman Antony P. Ressler sold 175,152 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.56, for a total value of $23,393,301.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 157,837 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.22, for a total value of $23,394,600.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,660,399.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,544,846 shares of company stock worth $209,247,962. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 19,949 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 6,576 shares during the period. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $1,100,000. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter worth $2,421,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 149,920 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $17,829,000 after acquiring an additional 29,457 shares during the period. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 66,950 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $7,962,000 after acquiring an additional 16,010 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

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.