Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $126.56.

A number of analysts have weighed in on AEIS shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AEIS traded up $3.38 on Tuesday, reaching $91.49. 275,503 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 252,956. The company has a current ratio of 4.42, a quick ratio of 3.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Advanced Energy Industries has a twelve month low of $75.01 and a twelve month high of $132.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $102.20 and a 200-day moving average of $110.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.98, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.47.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) 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 predict that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Energy Industries

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 71.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 559 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.