Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $130.50 and last traded at $127.67, with a volume of 42768 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $127.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.89.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $117.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 110.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 4.62.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.07. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 2.91%. The firm had revenue of $374.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Advanced Energy Industries's quarterly revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. Advanced Energy Industries's payout ratio is presently 35.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Advanced Energy Industries

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.72, for a total value of $111,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,092 shares in the company, valued at $568,878.24. The trade was a 16.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,023 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,838 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $7,960,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,008 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 7,127 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 139,556 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $16,137,000 after purchasing an additional 12,860 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.