Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Trading 7.9% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) traded up 7.9% 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 were traded 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 equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AEIS. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Advanced Energy Industries from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.56.

Insider Transactions at Advanced Energy Industries

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEIS. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 38,720 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $4,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp acquired a new position in Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $360,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 209,785 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $24,257,000 after purchasing an additional 2,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.23, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.41.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.03). Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 2.91%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is 35.09%.

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.