AES (NYSE:AES) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $10.38, but opened at $11.05. AES shares last traded at $11.18, with a volume of 3,256,144 shares.

The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. AES had a return on equity of 27.30% and a net margin of 8.34%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share.

AES Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.176 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.08%. AES’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America assumed coverage on AES in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock. Hsbc Global Res upgraded AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. HSBC assumed coverage on AES in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho decreased their target price on AES from $24.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on AES from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.80.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in AES during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in AES by 190.3% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,581 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in AES by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 2,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in AES by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in AES by 760.4% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,958 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.13% of the company’s stock.

AES Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.05, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.99.

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.