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

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

AEIS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price (down from $135.00) on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.89.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Advanced Energy Industries stock traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $132.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 547,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 279,874. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $116.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 3.28 and a current ratio of 4.43. Advanced Energy Industries has a 12-month low of $75.01 and a 12-month high of $135.96. The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.20, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.50.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $404.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $392.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 26th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.30%. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In related news, EVP Paul R. Oldham sold 1,173 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,006 shares in the company, valued at $4,070,777.74. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,622 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $795,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,121 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $53,204,000 after purchasing an additional 18,533 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,971,000. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 192.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 19,405 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 12,773 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is 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.