The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) Stock Holdings Lifted by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,010 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in AES were worth $206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AES. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AES during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its position in AES by 59.1% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in AES in the third quarter valued at $63,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new position in shares of AES during the third quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AES by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.13% of the company’s stock.

AES Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE AES opened at $11.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.00. The AES Co. has a 12 month low of $11.57 and a 12 month high of $22.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.99.

AES (NYSE:AES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. AES had a return on equity of 27.30% and a net margin of 8.34%. The company’s revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The AES Co. will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AES Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.176 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from AES’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.97%. AES’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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. Bank of America initiated coverage on AES in a research report on Monday, November 25th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $11.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on AES from $23.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.30.

AES 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.