The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 25,395 Shares of The AES Co. (NYSE:AES)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in The AES Co. (NYSE:AES - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,429,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,395 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.34% of AES worth $31,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its holdings in AES by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in shares of AES by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 2,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AES by 93.3% during the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AES by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,082 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seed Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AES by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Seed Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AES Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AES traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $10.25. 16,499,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,659,479. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $11.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. The AES Co. has a 12 month low of $9.57 and a 12 month high of $22.21. The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 7.12, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.94.

AES (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. AES had a return on equity of 27.30% and a net margin of 8.34%. AES's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The AES Co. will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AES Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.176 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. AES's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AES. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of AES from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho cut their price target on AES from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AES from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America raised shares of AES from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on AES from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AES presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $13.71.

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.