Analysts Set The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) Price Target at $18.80

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.80.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AES. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of AES from $17.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho decreased their price target on AES from $24.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of AES in a report on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on AES from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

AES Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of AES stock opened at $10.55 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $12.36 and a 200 day moving average of $15.29. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.99. AES has a fifty-two week low of $10.33 and a fifty-two week high of $22.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85.

AES Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.176 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.67%. This is an increase from AES’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. AES’s payout ratio is 48.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in AES by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AES by 3.2% during the third quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in AES by 8.0% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in AES by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 84,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,698,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Live Oak Investment Partners lifted its stake in AES by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Live Oak Investment Partners now owns 29,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.