Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

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

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In related news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 20,096 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.44, for a total value of $3,364,874.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,904 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,495,125.76. The trade was a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 456,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,276,239.48. This represents a 11.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 602,357 shares of company stock valued at $97,672,269. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,538 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Ares Management by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ares Management by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Ares Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 14,035 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 21.0% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on Ares Management from $184.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of ARES traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.73. 455,272 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,290,923. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $55.33 billion, a PE ratio of 81.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.20. Ares Management has a 52 week low of $107.69 and a 52 week high of $180.38.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 12.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.43%.

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.