Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AEIS. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.67.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 0.7 %

Advanced Energy Industries stock opened at $110.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.36, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a current ratio of 4.42. Advanced Energy Industries has a fifty-two week low of $75.01 and a fifty-two week high of $132.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $110.13.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $404.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $392.36 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 3.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 26th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.62%.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Energy Industries

In related news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total value of $2,155,077.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,760.04. The trade was a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,913,669 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $568,168,000 after acquiring an additional 69,908 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,586 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $89,565,000 after purchasing an additional 138,814 shares during the last quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,494,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,949,000. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $58,393,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Advanced Energy Industries

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc provides precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's plasma power products offer solutions to enable innovation for semiconductor and thin film plasma processes, such as dry etch and deposition.