Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Benchmark

Benchmark reissued their buy rating on shares of Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $117.00 price target on the electronics maker’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AEIS. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $108.00 to $97.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $111.86.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ:AEIS traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $97.99. The stock had a trading volume of 259,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,206. Advanced Energy Industries has a 12 month low of $81.86 and a 12 month high of $126.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 5.10 and a quick ratio of 4.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.13.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The electronics maker reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.09). Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 6.58% and a return on equity of 11.70%. The business had revenue of $327.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $351.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.71%.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Energy Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEIS. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,856,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 130.4% in the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 32,790 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,571,000 after acquiring an additional 18,561 shares during the last quarter. III Capital Management acquired a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $897,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 422,253 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $45,991,000 after purchasing an additional 17,290 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 61.0% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 232,942 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $24,021,000 after purchasing an additional 88,267 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.