Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Reaches New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $139.51 and last traded at $137.36, with a volume of 47599 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $138.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AEIS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Energy Industries presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.89.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.54, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 4.43 and a quick ratio of 3.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $124.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.76.

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

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Donaghey sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,029 shares in the company, valued at $1,544,060. This represents a 15.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul R. Oldham sold 1,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total value of $154,003.17. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,006 shares in the company, valued at $4,070,777.74. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Energy Industries

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEIS. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,494,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,949,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,393,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 15,632.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 193,670 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $18,459,000 after acquiring an additional 192,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,586 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $89,565,000 after acquiring an additional 138,814 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently 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.