Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Given New $140.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $138.00 to $140.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on AEIS. StockNews.com cut shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.67.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Advanced Energy Industries stock opened at $110.04 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $75.01 and a 12 month high of $132.16. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $98.41 and its 200-day moving average is $110.14.

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

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, May 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 $451,760.04. The trade was a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

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

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.