Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Short Interest Update

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,390,000 shares, a decline of 13.1% from the October 31st total of 3,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on ARES shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ARES traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $175.05. The stock had a trading volume of 833,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,157,280. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $54.80 billion, a PE ratio of 80.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.19. Ares Management has a 12-month low of $107.69 and a 12-month high of $180.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $166.32 and its 200-day moving average is $150.62.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 229,904 shares in the company, valued at $38,495,125.76. The trade was a 8.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 57,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.74, for a total transaction of $8,092,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,276,239.48. The trade was a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 666,030 shares of company stock worth $109,779,010 over the last ninety days. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 65,417 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,195,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Ares Management by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 192,634 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $25,674,000 after acquiring an additional 38,047 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ares Management by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 682,985 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $106,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,476 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Ares Management by 45.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 82,717 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $11,000,000 after acquiring an additional 26,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retireful LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $696,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.