The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) Short Interest Down 21.7% in March

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 30,560,000 shares, a decline of 21.7% from the February 28th total of 39,010,000 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of AES from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $11.00 to $13.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of AES in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $17.00 price objective on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised AES to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of AES from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of AES from $17.00 to $12.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.63.

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AES Stock Performance

Shares of AES traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.36. 7,997,624 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,991,250. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.94. AES has a fifty-two week low of $9.88 and a fifty-two week high of $22.21. The business's 50 day moving average is $11.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21.

AES (NYSE:AES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion. AES had a return on equity of 27.30% and a net margin of 8.34%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that AES will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

AES Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.176 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. AES's payout ratio is 29.54%.

Institutional Trading of AES

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in AES in the third quarter worth $28,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AES by 190.3% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of AES by 79.5% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 2,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in AES by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 2,958 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.