North Star Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES)

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in The AES Corporation by 5.8%, now owning 1,602,816 shares valued at approximately $19.9 million.
• The AES Corporation reported a loss in earnings per share (EPS) of $0.27 for the last quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimate of $0.37, with a revenue of $2.93 billion.
• AES has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.176, with a dividend yield of 5.24%, to be paid on August 15th, with an ex-dividend date of August 1st.

North Star Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,602,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 87,372 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned 0.23% of AES worth $19,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in AES by 3.8% during the first quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 263,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,271,000 after buying an additional 9,558 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its position in AES by 8.4% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 116,871 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,452,000 after buying an additional 9,102 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its position in AES by 5.3% during the first quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 100,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,242,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in AES by 58.9% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 18,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 6,840 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in AES by 22.1% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 634,974 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,886,000 after buying an additional 114,999 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AES Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE AES traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.24. The company had a trading volume of 19,647,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,485,381. The business's 50-day moving average is $11.63 and its 200-day moving average is $11.30. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.96. The AES Corporation has a 52 week low of $9.46 and a 52 week high of $20.30.

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

AES Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.176 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. AES's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AES from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of AES from $15.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of AES from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of AES from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of AES from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.67.

AES 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.