The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 21,760 Shares of The AES Corporation $AES

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in The AES Corporation by 0.9%, holding 2,451,243 shares worth approximately $30.44 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors have modified their positions in AES, with Point72 Asset Management purchasing a new stake valued at around $121.6 million in the fourth quarter.
• AES declared a quarterly dividend of $0.176 paid on August 15, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 5.2% for shareholders.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,451,243 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 21,760 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.34% of AES worth $30,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in AES by 5.1% during the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in AES by 4.0% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 26,290 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AES by 1.1% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 94,686 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AES by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 24,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AES Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of AES traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $12.93. The stock had a trading volume of 12,318,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,549,896. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46. The AES Corporation has a 52 week low of $9.46 and a 52 week high of $20.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.93 and a 200 day moving average of $11.68. The company has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.92.

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

AES Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $0.176 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. AES's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AES. Barclays upped their price objective on AES from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of AES in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AES from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded AES from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $9.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of AES from $23.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AES has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.