Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Upgraded at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $145.00 price objective on the electronics maker’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Baird R W upgraded Advanced Energy Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Advanced Energy Industries presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $125.78.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Down 5.2 %

AEIS stock opened at $118.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.26. Advanced Energy Industries has a twelve month low of $89.11 and a twelve month high of $128.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 104.10, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 4.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.07. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 2.91%. The business had revenue of $374.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Energy Industries

In other news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $111,720.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $568,878.24. This represents a 16.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEIS. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,681,776 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $182,910,000 after acquiring an additional 199,578 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 22.4% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 647,682 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $70,442,000 after purchasing an additional 118,328 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,306,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 12.4% during 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. Finally, Sora Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the third quarter worth approximately $4,736,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.