Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $130.20.

AEIS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AEIS traded down $3.67 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $135.25. 468,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 338,263. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.05. The company has a quick ratio of 3.28, a current ratio of 4.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Advanced Energy Industries has a 52 week low of $75.01 and a 52 week high of $145.52.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $404.60 million for 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 was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Advanced Energy Industries's payout ratio is presently 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Energy Industries

In other news, EVP Paul R. Oldham sold 1,173 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,070,777.74. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Donaghey sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $280,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,029 shares in the company, valued at $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. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Energy Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 0.7% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 11,066 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,466,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in 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. increased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 42.9% during 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 raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 98.3% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 234 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.