Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Upgraded by Citigroup to "Buy" Rating

Citigroup upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $138.00 price objective on the electronics maker's stock, up from their previous price objective of $110.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AEIS. Bank of America upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.38.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 2.3 %

AEIS traded up $2.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $121.24. 282,149 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 212,783. Advanced Energy Industries has a 1-year low of $89.11 and a 1-year high of $124.48. The stock's 50-day moving average is $115.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.35, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 4.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $374.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $372.49 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 9.02%. The firm's revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Advanced Energy Industries will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 0.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. Advanced Energy Industries's dividend payout ratio is 35.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.72, for a total transaction of $111,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $568,878.24. This trade represents a 16.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEIS. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,681,776 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $182,910,000 after buying an additional 199,578 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 647,682 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $70,442,000 after buying an additional 118,328 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,306,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Advanced Energy Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,873,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 483,848 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $50,920,000 after buying an additional 53,566 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by 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.