Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Stock Price

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $115.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the electronics maker’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Baird R W raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Advanced Energy Industries has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.89.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEIS opened at $121.13 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.26, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.46. Advanced Energy Industries has a 1 year low of $89.11 and a 1 year high of $128.70. The company has a current ratio of 4.62, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $374.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is currently 35.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were 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 owns 5,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $568,878.24. This trade represents a 16.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,681,776 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $182,910,000 after buying an additional 199,578 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 950,977 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $103,428,000 after acquiring an additional 15,577 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 884,402 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $93,094,000 after buying an additional 15,030 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 647,682 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $70,442,000 after purchasing an additional 118,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 514,424 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $55,949,000 after acquiring an additional 13,967 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

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.