Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $126.89.

Several analysts recently weighed in on AEIS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of AEIS stock traded up $3.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $141.13. 525,309 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 283,203. Advanced Energy Industries has a 1 year low of $75.01 and a 1 year high of $141.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $122.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.38. The company has a current ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 72.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.52.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.26. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 4.73%. The firm had revenue of $404.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $392.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 26th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio is 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Energy Industries

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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Donaghey sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $280,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,544,060. This trade represents a 15.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 446 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 29,565 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,818,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,916 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,857 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 3,590 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.