AES (NYSE:AES) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $9.88 and last traded at $9.91, with a volume of 9052517 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AES has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target on AES from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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 target price (down previously from $15.00) on shares of AES in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded AES from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.67.

AES Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.81.

AES (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.20. AES had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 27.30%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The AES Co. will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AES Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.176 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. AES's payout ratio is 29.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AES by 190.3% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in AES by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 2,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AES by 93.3% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of AES by 200.6% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in AES by 760.4% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,958 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AES Company 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.