AES (NYSE:AES) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $12.52 and last traded at $12.59, with a volume of 8651395 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $12.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AES. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of AES from $24.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays lowered their target price on AES from $23.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America started coverage on AES in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $11.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on AES in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC started coverage on shares of AES in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has 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 price target of $19.30.

AES Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $14.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.97. The company has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.01. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. AES had a net margin of 8.34% and a return on equity of 27.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The AES Co. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

AES Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.176 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.63%. This is a boost from AES’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. AES’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AES

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AES in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in AES during the third quarter valued at $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in AES by 102.3% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AES during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of AES by 59.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.13% of the company’s stock.

About AES

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.