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

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $126.56.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AEIS. Citigroup upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of 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, Bank of America upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 535.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 216 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 354 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries during the third quarter worth $41,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Advanced Energy Industries Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AEIS traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.31. The stock had a trading volume of 367,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,743. Advanced Energy Industries has a 52 week low of $89.12 and a 52 week high of $132.16. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $113.28 and its 200 day moving average is $112.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.03). Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.97%.

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.