Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 53,566 Shares of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS - Free Report) by 12.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 483,848 shares of the electronics maker's stock after purchasing an additional 53,566 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.28% of Advanced Energy Industries worth $50,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AEIS. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 157.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 626 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at $87,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 2,150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 810 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in Advanced Energy Industries by 13.4% during the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 983 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the second quarter worth $109,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AEIS shares. Citigroup cut shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $113.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com raised Advanced Energy Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Baird R W upgraded Advanced Energy Industries to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Advanced Energy Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.75.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Down 0.3 %

Advanced Energy Industries stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $117.00. 217,503 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 255,983. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.61 and a 52-week high of $120.81. The company has a quick ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 4.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business's 50-day moving average price is $104.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.94 and a beta of 1.48.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $374.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Advanced Energy Industries's quarterly revenue was down 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. Advanced Energy Industries's payout ratio is currently 35.09%.

Advanced Energy Industries Profile

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.