Short Interest in The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) Declines By 14.8%

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 20,889,342 shares, a decrease of 14.8% from the March 31st total of 24,520,971 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,871,467 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

AES Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:AES opened at $14.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $14.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.97. AES has a 1-year low of $9.46 and a 1-year high of $17.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94.

AES (NYSE:AES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.13. AES had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 19.93%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AES will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AES Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a $0.176 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. AES’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus lowered AES from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Susquehanna lowered shares of AES from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho cut shares of AES from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AES from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price (down from $23.00) on shares of AES in a report on Friday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.30.

Institutional Trading of AES

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in shares of AES by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 14,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 671 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in shares of AES by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in AES by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 28,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the period. S&CO Inc. lifted its stake in AES by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 17,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in AES by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AES Company Profile

AES Corporation is a global energy company focused on the generation and distribution of electricity across diversified markets. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, AES develops, builds and operates power plants and distribution systems that serve residential, industrial and commercial customers. The company’s portfolio includes thermal, renewable and battery energy storage facilities designed to deliver reliable and sustainable electricity solutions.

Through its subsidiaries, AES operates a balanced mix of power generation assets, including natural gas, coal and renewables such as solar and wind.