Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Receives $126.56 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $126.56.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AEIS shares. Bank of America raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of AEIS opened at $110.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. Advanced Energy Industries has a 12-month low of $89.12 and a 12-month high of $132.16. The company has a current ratio of 4.42, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $118.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.25.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its 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 net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total transaction of $206,992.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,760.04. This trade represents a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEIS. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 2.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 24,763 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,606,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 5.5% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 12.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,848 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $50,920,000 after buying an additional 53,566 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.5% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 18,090 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $664,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

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.