The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) Shares Bought by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in The AES Corporation by 104.0% in the first quarter, owning 90,902 shares worth approximately $1.13 million.
• AES reported earnings of $0.51 per share for the quarter, exceeding forecasts, but its quarterly revenue was down 3% year-over-year at $2.86 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.176 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.3%, with a payout ratio of 38.04%.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES - Free Report) by 104.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,902 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 46,344 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in AES were worth $1,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of 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. purchased a new position in AES in the first quarter worth about $35,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in AES by 760.4% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,523 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.13% of the company's stock.

AES Price Performance

Shares of AES stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $12.83. The stock had a trading volume of 5,863,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,087,088. The stock's 50 day moving average is $11.76 and its 200 day moving average is $11.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.03, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.96. The AES Corporation has a twelve month low of $9.46 and a twelve month high of $20.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46.

AES (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. AES had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 19.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The AES Corporation will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AES Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $0.176 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. AES's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AES from $108.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of AES from $15.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AES from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of AES from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of AES from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.67.

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.