AES (NYSE:AES) Given New $14.00 Price Target at Barclays

AES (NYSE:AES - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $12.00 to $14.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider's stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AES from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of AES in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on AES from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AES from $108.00 to $112.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered AES from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.67.

AES Price Performance

Shares of AES traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.84. 10,981,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,959,257. AES has a one year low of $9.46 and a one year high of $20.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.21 and a 200 day moving average of $11.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.52, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.95.

AES (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. AES had a net margin of 10.67% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The business's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AES will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AES Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $0.176 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. AES's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.04%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in AES by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 2,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in AES in the first quarter worth about $35,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of AES by 200.6% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in AES in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of AES by 760.4% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. 93.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.