The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.2727.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AES. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price target (down from $23.00) on shares of AES in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AES from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of AES in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho lowered shares of AES from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Argus lowered shares of AES from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th.

AES Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:AES opened at $14.20 on Thursday. AES has a 12 month low of $9.46 and a 12 month high of $17.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $15.05 and its 200 day moving average is $14.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.95.

AES (NYSE:AES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.13. AES had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 7.40%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AES will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

AES Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.176 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. AES’s dividend payout ratio is 55.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AES. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AES by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 14,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in AES by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its stake in AES by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 28,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. S&CO Inc. boosted its holdings in AES by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 17,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of AES by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.13% of the company’s stock.

About AES

AES Corporation is a global energy company focused on the generation and distribution of electricity across diversified markets. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, AES develops, builds and operates power plants and distribution systems that serve residential, industrial and commercial customers. The company’s portfolio includes thermal, renewable and battery energy storage facilities designed to deliver reliable and sustainable electricity solutions.

Through its subsidiaries, AES operates a balanced mix of power generation assets, including natural gas, coal and renewables such as solar and wind.