Citizens Jmp Upgrades Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) to "Outperform"

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Citizens Jmp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $165.00 price objective on the asset manager's stock. Citizens Jmp's price target indicates a potential upside of 19.66% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America cut their target price on Ares Management from $221.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.07.

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Ares Management Trading Up 1.6 %

ARES stock traded up $2.12 on Tuesday, reaching $137.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,184,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,372,277. The firm has a market cap of $43.49 billion, a PE ratio of 67.93, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.97. Ares Management has a 12-month low of $110.63 and a 12-month high of $200.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, CEO Michael J. Arougheti sold 110,845 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total value of $16,978,128.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $214,438,000. This trade represents a 7.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,413,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,237,163.65. The trade was a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 22,750 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,545,000 after buying an additional 5,404 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $335,858,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ares Management by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 715,258 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $126,622,000 after purchasing an additional 32,273 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,244,179 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,284,773,000 after purchasing an additional 679,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 134.1% during the 4th quarter. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,300 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.