Short Interest in Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) Expands By 6.1%

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,780,000 shares, an increase of 6.1% from the December 15th total of 2,620,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 228,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 12.2 days. Approximately 7.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AEIS shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Advanced Energy Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Advanced Energy Industries has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.89.

Advanced Energy Industries Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ AEIS opened at $121.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a current ratio of 4.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $116.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.78. The company has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 1.46. Advanced Energy Industries has a one year low of $89.11 and a one year high of $128.70.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $374.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $372.49 million. Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 9.02%. Advanced Energy Industries’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Advanced Energy Industries will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 5,092 shares in the company, valued at $568,878.24. This represents a 16.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Advanced Energy Industries

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,008 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 4,594 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 1.0% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 10,752 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 2,019 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 5.5% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

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.