Ares Management L.P. (NYSE: ARES) and Cohen & Steers (NYSE:CNS) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Ares Management L.P. and Cohen & Steers’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ares Management L.P. | $1.47 billion | 2.63 | $260.09 million | $0.73 | 24.73 |
| Cohen & Steers | $366.32 million | 4.83 | $150.50 million | $2.06 | 18.54 |
Ares Management L.P. has higher revenue and earnings than Cohen & Steers. Cohen & Steers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ares Management L.P., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Ares Management L.P. pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.9%. Cohen & Steers pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ares Management L.P. pays out 169.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cohen & Steers pays out 54.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ares Management L.P. has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Ares Management L.P. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Profitability
This table compares Ares Management L.P. and Cohen & Steers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ares Management L.P. | 5.86% | 40.94% | 7.01% |
| Cohen & Steers | 26.34% | 33.17% | 26.42% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Ares Management L.P. and Cohen & Steers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ares Management L.P. | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2.86 |
| Cohen & Steers | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Ares Management L.P. currently has a consensus price target of $21.83, suggesting a potential upside of 20.96%. Cohen & Steers has a consensus price target of $44.33, suggesting a potential upside of 16.09%. Given Ares Management L.P.’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ares Management L.P. is more favorable than Cohen & Steers.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
14.4% of Ares Management L.P. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.0% of Cohen & Steers shares are owned by institutional investors. 52.9% of Cohen & Steers shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility and Risk
Ares Management L.P. has a beta of 1.25, meaning that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cohen & Steers has a beta of 1.54, meaning that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Ares Management L.P. beats Cohen & Steers on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
Ares Management L.P. Company Profile
Ares Management, L.P. is an alternative asset manager. The Company offers its investors a range of investment strategies. It operates through three segments: Credit Group, Private Equity Group and Real Estate Group. The Credit Group segment manages credit strategies across the non-investment grade credit universe in the United States and Europe. It offers a range of credit strategies across the liquid and illiquid spectrum, including syndicated loans, high yield bonds, credit opportunities, structured credit investments and the United States and European direct lending. The Credit Group provides solutions for traditional fixed income investors. The Private Equity Group segment categorizes its investment strategies as corporate private equity, the United States power and energy infrastructure and special situations. The Real Estate Group segment manages public and private equity and debt strategies. The Real Estate Group manages both a value-add strategy and an opportunistic strategy.
Cohen & Steers Company Profile
Cohen & Steers, Inc. (CNS) is a holding company. The Company is an investment manager with a focus on liquid real assets, including real estate securities, listed infrastructure, commodities and natural resource equities, as well as preferred securities and other income solutions. The Company serves institutional and individual investors. The Company manages three types of investment vehicles: institutional accounts, open-end funds and closed-end funds. The Company also provides services in connection with model-based strategies (MBS) accounts. In addition, the Company provides several services in connection with assets held by unit investment trusts (UITs). As a portfolio consultant to a number of UITs, the Company constructs a portfolio of securities that suit the investment objective of the UIT. The Company also provides ongoing portfolio monitoring services and provides a license to certain firms to use its name in connection with certain of their investment products.
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