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

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $130.20.

AEIS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

Shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock opened at $144.07 on Thursday. Advanced Energy Industries has a twelve month low of $75.01 and a twelve month high of $145.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a current ratio of 4.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.90. The firm has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.52.

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. The firm had revenue of $404.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $392.36 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 4.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Paul R. Oldham sold 1,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total value of $154,003.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,006 shares in the company, valued at $4,070,777.74. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Donaghey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,544,060. This represents a 15.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Energy Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 0.7% in the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 11,066 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 446 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 42.9% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 313 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 29,565 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,818,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,916 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by 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.