Short Interest in Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) Rises By 31.0%

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 10,627,353 shares, a growth of 31.0% from the January 29th total of 8,110,274 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,534,233 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 5,534,233 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ares Management

In other Ares Management news, Director Judy D. Olian purchased 480 shares of Ares Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $124.43 per share, with a total value of $59,726.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 29,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,699,801.62. This trade represents a 1.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ashish Bhutani acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $126.61 per share, with a total value of $1,266,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 34,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,313,729.31. This represents a 41.54% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ares Management

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ares Management by 100.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 190 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ares Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ares Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ares Management during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ares Management in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ARES. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $157.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wolfe Research set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Ares Management and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Ares Management from $224.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.67.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of ARES traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $113.33. 3,317,004 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,856,297. Ares Management has a 52-week low of $108.67 and a 52-week high of $195.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.04 billion, a PE ratio of 67.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.23.

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

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is an increase from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Ares Management’s payout ratio is 265.09%.

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.