Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) Stock Price

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $215.00 to $187.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the asset manager’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 27.04% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ARES. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ares Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.83.

Ares Management Price Performance

ARES stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $147.19. 576,328 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,209,949. The company has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.51, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $125.23 and a 52-week high of $200.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $176.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.01. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 11.35%. As a group, analysts predict that Ares Management will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares in the company, valued at $4,861,052.91. The trade was a 69.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $141.33 per share, with a total value of $1,413,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock worth $37,431,786. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 704 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 50.03% of the stock is currently 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.