Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $126.56.

AEIS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total transaction of $206,992.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,760.04. This trade represents a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Energy Industries

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 621.2% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,957 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,547 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 6.7% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,622 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 8.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 4.0% in the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 8,114 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 71.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 559 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Shares of AEIS stock opened at $86.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.27. Advanced Energy Industries has a one year low of $75.01 and a one year high of $132.16. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 60.17, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.03). Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is 27.97%.

Advanced Energy Industries Company Profile

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.