Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 20,632 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. $AEIS

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its stake in Advanced Energy by 3.4%, selling 20,632 shares and now owns 579,542 shares (about 1.54% of the company) valued at roughly $121.34 million.
• Advanced Energy beat Q1 expectations (EPS $2.09 vs. $1.97 est.; revenue $511M, +26.3% Y/Y), raised Q2 guidance and cited AI/data‑center demand, which helped lift the stock toward its one‑year high.
• Multiple brokers raised price targets (Needham, Stifel, Baird, etc.), leaving a MarketBeat consensus of “Moderate Buy” with a $358 price target, fueling analyst-driven optimism.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 579,542 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 20,632 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.54% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $121,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 203.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 173 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEIS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $330.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Advanced Energy Industries has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $358.00.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of AEIS stock opened at $360.81 on Thursday. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 1 year low of $107.29 and a 1 year high of $397.44. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $342.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.40.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The electronics maker reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $511.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $505.81 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 10.00% and a return on equity of 17.99%. The business's revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Advanced Energy Industries has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.930-2.430 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Advanced Energy Industries's payout ratio is currently 8.42%.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Energy Industries

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, Director Brian Shirley sold 1,234 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.19, for a total value of $382,774.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,100.96. This trade represents a 18.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul R. Oldham sold 4,314 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.99, for a total value of $1,363,180.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,020,349.83. This represents a 16.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,478 shares of company stock worth $18,567,013. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Advanced Energy Industries

Here are the key news stories impacting Advanced Energy Industries this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and raised 2026 guide — AEIS reported an EPS and revenue beat, with revenue up ~26% Y/Y and management raising Q2 guidance, citing AI-driven and data-center demand. This is the core catalyst lifting the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large analyst upgrades — Citigroup raised its price target to $410 and kept a buy rating, signaling strong upside from the street and likely contributing to buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Additional bullish analyst moves — Needham bumped its target to $400 (buy) and Robert W. Baird raised its target to $380 (outperform), adding to positive sentiment from multiple brokers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Data-center revenue strength — Management commentary and follow-ups show data-center revenue has doubled, underscoring durable secular tailwinds from AI infrastructure spending. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum coverage — Multiple pieces highlight AEIS as a strong momentum stock, which can attract trend-following flows but isn’t a fundamental endorsement by itself. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend declared — AEIS announced a modest quarterly dividend of $0.10/share (ex-div May 22), a small positive for income-focused holders but immaterial to valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: High-expectations risk and late profit-taking — Commentary from Seeking Alpha and a late-session dip reported by IBD warn that elevated expectations increase the risk of pullbacks and that some selling occurred after the initial rally. Read More. • Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst stances — Some firms raised targets but kept neutral/hold ratings (Wells Fargo, TD Cowen), indicating not all brokers view near-term upside as clear. Read More.

Advanced Energy Industries Company Profile

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc is a global technology company specializing in precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions. The company designs and manufactures a broad portfolio of products including high-voltage power supplies, RF and microwave generators, digital power controllers, reactive gas control systems, and thin film measurement instruments. These solutions enable advanced processes in semiconductor fabrication, flat panel display manufacturing, industrial coating, data storage, telecommunications and medical device production.

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, Advanced Energy has grown through strategic product development and international expansion.

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