Ares Management Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ARES)

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 9,717 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 48% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,546 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ARES. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Ares Management from $180.00 to $173.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Ares Management from $189.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $182.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.73.

Ares Management Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:ARES traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $101.93. 619,200 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,751,907. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Ares Management has a one year low of $95.80 and a one year high of $195.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.27.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Ares Management had a return on equity of 19.04% and a net margin of 9.41%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ares Management will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 319.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ares Management news, Director Ashish Bhutani bought 10,000 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $126.61 per share, with a total value of $1,266,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 34,071 shares in the company, valued at $4,313,729.31. This trade represents a 41.54% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy D. Olian bought 480 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $124.43 per share, for a total transaction of $59,726.40. Following the acquisition, the director owned 29,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,699,801.62. This represents a 1.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 36.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ARES. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 10,360 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 5,579 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,344 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 42.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,197 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 1,902 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ares Management by 708.2% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 493 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.