Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 544,000 Shares of The AES Corporation $AES

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management LLC cut its AES stake by 49.7% in the first quarter, selling 544,000 shares and ending with 550,000 shares valued at about $7.75 million.
• AES recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting earnings of $0.68 per share versus the $0.50 estimate and revenue of $3.18 billion versus $3.11 billion expected.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.176 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 4.8%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target price of $15.71.

Madison Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES - Free Report) by 49.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 550,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 544,000 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC owned about 0.08% of AES worth $7,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in AES by 6.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 68,745 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $854,000 after buying an additional 3,936 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in AES by 259.7% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 54,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 39,283 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of AES in the 1st quarter valued at about $190,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of AES by 763.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 146,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 129,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of AES by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 60,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 17,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.13% of the company's stock.

AES Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AES opened at $14.80 on Wednesday. The AES Corporation has a 12-month low of $12.33 and a 12-month high of $17.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.67 and a 200-day moving average of $14.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 0.96.

AES (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. AES had a return on equity of 22.66% and a net margin of 10.78%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The AES Corporation will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

AES Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be given a $0.176 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 31st. AES's payout ratio is presently 37.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AES shares. Susquehanna downgraded shares of AES from a "positive" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AES in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Argus cut AES from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, AES presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.71.

AES Company Profile

AES Corporation is a global energy company focused on the generation and distribution of electricity across diversified markets. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, AES develops, builds and operates power plants and distribution systems that serve residential, industrial and commercial customers. The company's portfolio includes thermal, renewable and battery energy storage facilities designed to deliver reliable and sustainable electricity solutions.

Through its subsidiaries, AES operates a balanced mix of power generation assets, including natural gas, coal and renewables such as solar and wind.

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