Investors Buy Large Volume of AES Put Options (NYSE:AES)

The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 17,270 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 36% compared to the average daily volume of 12,745 put options.

AES News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AES this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights AES as a strong growth stock, pointing to favorable style scores that may attract growth‑oriented investors; this supports demand for the shares. Here’s Why AES (AES) is a Strong Growth Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also flags AES’s exposure to booming data‑center power demand — AES has ~8.2 GW in signed PPAs and growing relationships with big tech (including Google) that should lock in long‑dated revenues and improve visibility. Can AES Capitalize on Surging Data Center Energy Demand?
• Neutral Sentiment: AES sold interests tied to the former Redondo Beach power plant to a buyer group led by BlackRock — a move that monetizes non‑core assets and reduces legacy exposure but doesn’t materially change core renewable/generation growth narratives. Former Redondo power plant owners AES sold to group led by BlackRock
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put option activity: traders bought ~17,270 put contracts (about 36% above average), which signals elevated bearish bets and could increase short‑term downside volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: Argus downgraded AES from Buy to Hold, which may pressure investor sentiment and weigh on near‑term inflows from income/growth-focused funds.
• Negative Sentiment: Political/opinion coverage questions the handling of AES asset sales and regulatory oversight, adding reputational and political risk that could influence investor sentiment. Republicans could’ve stopped the AES sale. They chose not to. | Opinion

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AES

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its holdings in AES by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 7,882,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $103,730,000 after purchasing an additional 69,622 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of AES by 128.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,147,438 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,021,385 shares during the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT increased its stake in shares of AES by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 6,898,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,922,000 after buying an additional 1,002,530 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of AES by 0.4% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,329,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,497,000 after buying an additional 5,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AES by 247.6% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 968,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,185,000 after buying an additional 689,741 shares during the last quarter. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AES Price Performance

AES stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.01. 20,269,096 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,810,842. The company has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.05 and a 200 day moving average of $14.32. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. AES had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 19.93%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AES will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

AES Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.176 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. AES’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AES. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of AES in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $15.00 target price (down from $23.00) on shares of AES in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AES from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of AES in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded AES from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $24.27.

About AES

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.