Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $177.45 and last traded at $177.45, with a volume of 695 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $167.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ares Management from $158.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Ares Management in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Ares Management from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ares Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.36.

Ares Management Stock Performance

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 capitalization of $52.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.20. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $159.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.42.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a net margin of 12.51% and a return on equity of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $833.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ares Management Co. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ryan Berry sold 1,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $292,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 253,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,312,450. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total transaction of $10,728,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 561,280 shares of company stock worth $83,030,436. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ARES. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 67.7% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 87,659 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,661,000 after purchasing an additional 35,385 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $460,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 3.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,064 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Ares Management by 5.5% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 124,139 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $19,346,000 after purchasing an additional 6,476 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.