The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,070,000 shares, a growth of 14.8% from the May 31st total of 17,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,040,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of AES in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of AES from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of AES from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of AES from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of AES in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.88.

AES Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AES opened at $17.61 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $19.56 and a 200-day moving average of $18.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40 and a beta of 1.09. AES has a 12 month low of $11.43 and a 12 month high of $22.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.04.

AES (NYSE:AES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. AES had a net margin of 4.40% and a return on equity of 36.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AES will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in AES during the 1st quarter worth approximately $91,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in AES by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 40,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,327 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in AES during the 1st quarter worth approximately $118,000. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AES by 77.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 18,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 7,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Shields & Co. LLC bought a new stake in AES during the 1st quarter worth approximately $746,000. 93.13% of the stock is currently 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.