AES Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AES)

Key Points

• The AES Corporation experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with 39,573 call options acquired, a rise of about 116% compared to typical volumes.
• Several analysts have upgraded AES’s target price recently, with Barclays raising it from $12.00 to $14.00 and JPMorgan raising it from $14.00 to $15.00, while the stock currently holds a consensus price target of $24.67.
• AES reported $0.51 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue fell 3.0% year-over-year, totaling $2.86 billion.

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 39,573 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 116% compared to the typical volume of 18,293 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AES. Barclays upped their target price on AES from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised AES from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Susquehanna increased their price target on AES from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on AES from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AES

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AES in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in AES by 200.6% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing 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. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in AES by 235.4% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 3,595 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in AES by 33.5% in 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 in the last quarter. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AES Stock Up 15.9%

Shares of AES stock traded up $2.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $15.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,782,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,635,015. The stock has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.82. AES has a 52-week low of $9.46 and a 52-week high of $20.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $13.16 and a 200 day moving average price 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AES will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AES Announces Dividend

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

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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