AES (NYSE:AES) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• AES shares saw a significant price increase, opening at $14.92 after a previous close of $13.16, with the last traded price at $15.09 and a trading volume of over 21 million shares.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings for AES, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price increase to $24.67, suggesting investor optimism.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.176 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 4.6% as of August 1st.

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.16, but opened at $14.92. AES shares last traded at $15.09, with a volume of 21,277,597 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on AES shares. Susquehanna raised their target price on AES from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on AES from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AES from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AES from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AES currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.67.

AES Trading Up 16.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.89.

AES (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. AES had a return on equity of 19.02% and a net margin of 8.42%.AES's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The AES Corporation will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

AES Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $0.176 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. AES's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.30%.

Institutional Trading of AES

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AES by 33.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in AES by 5.1% during the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AES by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 26,290 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AES by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 94,686 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AES by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 24,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.13% of the company's stock.

AES Company Profile

The AES Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified power generation and utility company in the United States and internationally. The company owns and/or operates power plants to generate and sell power to customers, such as utilities, industrial users, and other intermediaries; owns and/or operates utilities to generate or purchase, distribute, transmit, and sell electricity to end-user customers in the residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental sectors; and generates and sells electricity on the wholesale market.

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