Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Advanced Energy Industries has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a positive outlook from analysts.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for the stock, with Benchmark setting it at $150.00 and Citigroup at $140.00, reflecting increasing confidence in the company's performance.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed a 21% year-over-year revenue increase, reporting $441.50 million, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AEIS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $150.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.90.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of AEIS stock traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $159.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 137,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,624. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Advanced Energy Industries has a one year low of $75.01 and a one year high of $163.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.52. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $136.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.26.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The electronics maker reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $441.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $421.32 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.13%. The firm's revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Advanced Energy Industries's payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In related news, EVP Paul R. Oldham sold 1,173 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total transaction of $154,003.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,006 shares in the company, valued at $4,070,777.74. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Donaghey sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,029 shares in the company, valued at $1,544,060. This represents a 15.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Energy Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 98.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 234 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 42.9% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 313 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

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.