AES Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AES)

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 5,561 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 31% compared to the average volume of 4,235 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AES has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AES in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Argus cut shares of AES from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Susquehanna downgraded shares of AES from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.71.

AES Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:AES opened at $14.86 on Thursday. AES has a 52 week low of $12.33 and a 52 week high of $17.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.94 and a beta of 0.96.

AES (NYSE:AES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. AES had a return on equity of 22.66% and a net margin of 10.78%. On average, equities analysts expect that AES will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AES Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.176 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. AES’s dividend payout ratio is 37.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AES

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in AES by 99.8% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,280,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,215,000 after buying an additional 7,133,230 shares during the last quarter. Kryger Capital LLC purchased a new position in AES in the first quarter valued at about $31,702,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT grew its position in shares of AES by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 6,898,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002,530 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AES by 247.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 968,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,185,000 after purchasing an additional 689,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of AES by 4,710.9% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 542,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,780,000 after purchasing an additional 531,251 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.