Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Buys New Stake in The AES Co. (NYSE:AES)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new stake in The AES Co. (NYSE:AES - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 383,564 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,936,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned approximately 0.05% of AES as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AES. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in AES by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 16,010 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AES by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 34,067 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in AES by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in AES by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,082 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Finally, Seed Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AES by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Seed Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AES Stock Performance

NYSE AES remained flat at $10.12 during trading hours on Thursday. 13,942,569 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,441,524. The AES Co. has a 12 month low of $9.57 and a 12 month high of $22.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.68. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.81.

AES (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. AES had a return on equity of 27.30% and a net margin of 8.34%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The AES Co. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AES Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.176 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. AES's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AES shares. Barclays lowered their price target on AES from $17.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $10.00 price target (down previously from $15.00) on shares of AES in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho cut their target price on AES from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America upgraded AES from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $13.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of AES from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AES currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.71.

AES 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.