Short Interest in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Declines By 7.7%

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,250,000 shares, a decrease of 7.7% from the September 15th total of 3,520,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,130,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARES. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ares Management from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ares Management from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ares Management from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.82.

Ares Management Stock Up 4.4 %

ARES traded up $7.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $170.64. 959,451 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,143,693. Ares Management has a fifty-two week low of $96.00 and a fifty-two week high of $171.14. The company has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.39, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.43.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $788.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $860.09 million. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 20.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 166.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider Ryan Berry sold 20,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total value of $3,201,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 344,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,096,414.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total value of $10,728,750.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ryan Berry sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.07, for a total transaction of $3,201,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 344,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,096,414.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 624,316 shares of company stock valued at $90,919,400. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 250 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 717.6% during the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 278 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Ares Management in the second quarter worth about $53,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.