Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Upgraded by Bank of America to Buy Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has $140.00 price objective on the electronics maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Baird R W raised Advanced Energy Industries to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Advanced Energy Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $124.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.25.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AEIS opened at $122.72 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 4.62. Advanced Energy Industries has a 52-week low of $89.11 and a 52-week high of $124.02. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $112.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.12.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $374.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.49 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 2.91%. The company’s revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Advanced Energy Industries will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Advanced Energy Industries news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.72, for a total value of $111,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $568,878.24. This represents a 16.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Advanced Energy Industries

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEIS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,366 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 16.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,305 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Advanced Energy Industries by 10.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 24,180 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,252 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $680,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 1.6% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,800 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 300 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.