Robert W. Baird Cuts Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Price Target to $124.00

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Robert W. Baird from $136.00 to $124.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the electronics maker's stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $125.22.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEIS traded down $1.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.96. The company had a trading volume of 128,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,053. Advanced Energy Industries has a 12 month low of $75.01 and a 12 month high of $132.16. The company has a quick ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 4.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.11, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. The company's fifty day moving average price is $99.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.22.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.03). Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 3.66%. As a group, research analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, May 24th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,669 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 403,679 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $42,483,000 after acquiring an additional 23,395 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,848 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $50,920,000 after purchasing an additional 53,566 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

About Advanced Energy Industries

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.