AES (NYSE:AES) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $9.88 and last traded at $10.10, with a volume of 2534890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Hsbc Global Res raised AES to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America assumed coverage on AES in a report on Monday, November 25th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $11.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on AES from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. HSBC began coverage on AES in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on AES from $17.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.80.

AES Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.82. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 7.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.99.

AES Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.176 dividend. This is a positive change from AES’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.59%. AES’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.61%.

Institutional Trading of AES

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AES. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of AES by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 113,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,270,000 after buying an additional 7,782 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of AES by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 67,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of AES by 69.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of AES by 594.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 271,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,445,000 after buying an additional 232,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AES during the 3rd quarter worth $325,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.13% of the company’s stock.

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.