Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $130.50 and last traded at $127.67, with a volume of 42768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on AEIS shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Advanced Energy Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Advanced Energy Industries presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.89.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $117.35 and a 200 day moving average of $110.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 4.62.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $374.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.49 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. Advanced Energy Industries’s payout ratio is 35.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $568,878.24. This trade represents a 16.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 51,726 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,981,000 after buying an additional 10,947 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,838 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $7,960,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,008 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 7,127 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.