Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Price Target Cut to $135.00 by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) had its price target lowered by Needham & Company LLC from $145.00 to $135.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the electronics maker's stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $124.44.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:AEIS traded up $2.98 on Thursday, reaching $111.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 550,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,462. The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 4.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Advanced Energy Industries has a 12-month low of $75.01 and a 12-month high of $132.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $98.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.14.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The electronics maker reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $404.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $392.36 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. Advanced Energy Industries's revenue for the quarter was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, May 24th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total value of $2,155,077.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,333.42. This trade represents a 49.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $206,992.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $71,494,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $68,949,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $58,393,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 15,632.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 193,670 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $18,459,000 after purchasing an additional 192,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 774,586 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $89,565,000 after purchasing an additional 138,814 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Advanced Energy Industries Company Profile

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc provides precision power conversion, measurement, and control solutions in the United States and internationally. The company's plasma power products offer solutions to enable innovation for semiconductor and thin film plasma processes, such as dry etch and deposition.