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

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,200,000 shares, an increase of 9.1% from the July 31st total of 3,850,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 14,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.11, for a total transaction of $2,024,554.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 125,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,263,750. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ares Management news, insider David B. Kaplan sold 14,659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.11, for a total transaction of $2,024,554.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 125,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,263,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 150,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.94, for a total value of $19,791,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 703,312 shares of company stock valued at $98,664,278 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 555.0% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 262 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 29,200.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE ARES traded up $2.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $146.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,607,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,006,619. The business's 50 day moving average is $142.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.99. Ares Management has a 12-month low of $96.00 and a 12-month high of $155.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.22.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 12.53%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ares Management will post 4.15 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 166.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ARES shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Ares Management from $134.00 to $133.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $160.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Ares Management in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Ares Management from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.92.

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.