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

Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,490,000 shares, a growth of 35.2% from the March 15th total of 4,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,800,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Currently, 3.0% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARES has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Ares Management from $188.00 to $166.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $159.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JMP Securities upgraded Ares Management from a "market perform" rating to a "market outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Ares Management from $197.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ares Management from $187.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $165.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total transaction of $14,998,848.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,237,163.65. This trade represents a 77.49 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 329,113 shares of company stock valued at $54,409,915. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ares Management

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ARES. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 67.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 104.8% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 170 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Ares Management during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 50.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

ARES stock traded up $4.50 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,150,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,387,033. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $44.66 billion, a PE ratio of 69.75, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's 50 day moving average is $152.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.33. Ares Management has a 52 week low of $110.63 and a 52 week high of $200.49.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 183.25%.

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.