Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEIS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $83.16 and last traded at $84.93, with a volume of 135082 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $96.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AEIS. Bank of America raised Advanced Energy Industries from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries from $138.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Advanced Energy Industries in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Advanced Energy Industries from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Advanced Energy Industries currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.56.

Advanced Energy Industries Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.42 and a quick ratio of 3.27. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.37.

Advanced Energy Industries (NASDAQ:AEIS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.03). Advanced Energy Industries had a net margin of 3.66% and a return on equity of 8.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. will post 3.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Advanced Energy Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Advanced Energy Industries’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

Insider Activity at Advanced Energy Industries

In other news, Director Lanesha Minnix sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.37, for a total value of $206,992.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,760.04. This represents a 31.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Eduardo Bernal Acebedo sold 19,309 shares of Advanced Energy Industries stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.61, for a total transaction of $2,155,077.49. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,212,333.42. The trade was a 49.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 460,121 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $53,204,000 after acquiring an additional 18,533 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Advanced Energy Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,971,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings in Advanced Energy Industries by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 139,556 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $16,137,000 after purchasing an additional 12,860 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 192.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 19,405 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 12,773 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Energy Industries by 99.9% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 25,564 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $2,956,000 after purchasing an additional 12,774 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Advanced Energy Industries Company Profile

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.