The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.13.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of AES in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of AES from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of AES in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Barclays decreased their price target on AES from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of AES in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AES

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of AES in the first quarter worth $33,000. Glassman Wealth Services increased its stake in shares of AES by 186.1% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of AES by 68.8% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AES by 57.8% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in AES during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 93.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AES Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AES opened at $19.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.04. AES has a 12-month low of $11.43 and a 12-month high of $22.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $16.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.11. The firm has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a PE ratio of 26.92 and a beta of 1.08.

AES (NYSE:AES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. AES had a return on equity of 36.23% and a net margin of 4.40%. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AES will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

AES Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be issued a $0.1725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. AES’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.83%.

AES Company Profile

The AES Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified power generation and utility company in the United States and internationally. The company owns and/or operates power plants to generate and sell power to customers, such as utilities, industrial users, and other intermediaries; owns and/or operates utilities to generate or purchase, distribute, transmit, and sell electricity to end-user customers in the residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental sectors; and generates and sells electricity on the wholesale market.