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

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $83.16 and last traded at $84.93, with a volume of 135082 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $96.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEIS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America raised Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $126.56.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Down 5.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a current ratio of 4.42. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.03.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.03). Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. On average, research analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $206,992.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,492 shares in the company, valued at $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total value of $2,155,077.49. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,212,333.42. This represents a 49.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEIS. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 385.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,049 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,241 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Visionary Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $1,326,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 426.0% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 26,631 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,079,000 after purchasing an additional 21,568 shares during the period. 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.