Ares Management Q1 AUM up 18% on record fundraising

Overview

• Alternative asset manager's Q1 net income was $142.6 mln

• Company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share

• Q1 results driven by record fundraising and 18% yr/yr AUM growth

Outlook

• Ares expects another record year of fundraising, citing broad-based investor demand

• Company says it is well positioned to invest capital opportunistically and meet 2026 financial objectives

• Ares continues to see strong fundamental performance across investment portfolios despite market volatility

Result Drivers

• RECORD FUNDRAISING - Q1 results benefited from record fundraising of $30 bln, up more than 45% yr/yr, per CEO Michael Arougheti

• AUM AND FEE GROWTH - Strong inflows and deployment led to 18% yr/yr AUM growth and 19% fee-paying AUM growth, driving 25% management fee growth, per CFO Jarrod Phillips

• BROAD INVESTOR DEMAND - Company cited broad-based investor demand across its platform and strong portfolio performance despite market volatility

Company press release: ID:nBw9gS2r3a

Key Details

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 12 "strong buy" or "buy", 5 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the investment management & fund operators peer group is "buy"

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Ares Management Corp is $147.00, about 25.2% above its April 30 closing price of $117.40

• The stock recently traded at 18 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 23 three months ago

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