AES Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AES)

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 5,438 call options on the company. This is an increase of 45% compared to the average volume of 3,739 call options.

AES Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE:AES opened at $16.24 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.54. The company has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 49.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.42, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.61. AES has a 1-year low of $11.43 and a 1-year high of $25.74.

AES (NYSE:AES) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.06. AES had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 38.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that AES will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AES Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.1725 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. AES’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 209.10%.

Institutional Trading of AES

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in AES during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Gyon Technologies Capital Management LP bought a new position in AES during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in AES during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in AES by 5,681.8% during the 4th quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AES by 3,172.5% during the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares during the period. 94.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AES from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of AES from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

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.