Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Trading Up 7.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) shares traded up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $130.00 to $135.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Advanced Energy Industries traded as high as $118.05 and last traded at $119.95. 115,258 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 249,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.17.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AEIS. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $126.56.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.72, for a total value of $111,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $568,878.24. This trade represents a 16.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $250,000. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 20.9% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 3,905 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 2.6% in the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,593 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $7,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 2,150.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 810 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 7.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 4.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.41. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.45.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last posted 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 2.91% and a return on equity of 9.02%. Equities analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.09%.

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.