Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on AES (NYSE:AES)

The AES Co. (NYSE:AES) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 23,067 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 82% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,676 call options.

AES Stock Up 1.8 %

AES stock opened at $9.98 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $11.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21. AES has a 12-month low of $9.57 and a 12-month high of $22.21. The company has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.93, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.81.

AES (NYSE:AES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.20. AES had a return on equity of 27.30% and a net margin of 8.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AES will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AES Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.176 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.05%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. AES’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna decreased their target price on AES from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Mizuho dropped their price target on AES from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of AES from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $10.00 price target (down previously from $15.00) on shares of AES in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of AES from $17.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AES

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of AES by 190.3% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,581 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in shares of AES by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 2,711 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in AES in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in AES by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of AES by 200.6% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. 93.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.